NatSteel Holdings Pte Ltd

Media Coverage

2007

	NatSteel Asia pledges $1 Million over the next three years to community initiatives Lianhe Zaobao, 18 December 2007 NatSteel Asia announced the launch of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme, dubbed ‘Building Beyond Borders’ or B3, pledging S$1million over the next three years to community initiatives. This announcement was made at the NatSteel Asia’s Golf Challenge, which was held in commemoration of Tata Steel’s Centenary. A cheque of $50,000 each was presented to NatSteel Asia’s adopted charities, the Society for the Physically Disabled and St Joseph’s Home , at the post-game dinner by NatSteel Asia’s President & CEO, Mr Oo Soon Hee. Said Mr Oo: “Through B3, we hope to support the elderly, and the children & youth in education. We also hope to support environment protection initiatives.” He added that NatSteel Asia's Sports & Recreation Club members will lead staff in volunteering at these two organisations. This was also mentioned in The Straits Times on 15 December 2007.
	Like us, you can benefit from ADVANTAGE! Business Times, 29 October 2007 NatSteel Asia was profiled in Business Times’ advertisement on the ADVANTAGE! Scheme. Our President & CEO, Mr Oo Soon Hee, was quoted saying, "We’ve had a re-employment policy for mature workers for some years now. This is because we value our mature workers for their ability to share their unique knowledge with their colleagues here and in the region.” Our fellow colleagues, Mr Oon Eng Tian and Mr Lau Kim Teck were also profiled in the advertisement. The same advertisement appeared on 31 October 2007 in The Straits Times, and the translated version in Lianhe Zaobao on 1 November 2007.
	Sterling Prospects BiZQ, Oct/Nov/Dec 2007 Mr Oo Soon Hee, President & CEO, talks about NatSteel Asia's transition from a Singapore company to an Indian subsidiary, as well as NSA's position and growth as one of the top steel producers in Asia Pacific. Touching on NSA's corporate culture and employee development plans, Mr Oo reiterates NSA's committment towards work-life balance for all staff.
	SE Asian players raise concerns over LME billet contract SBB Daily Briefing, Global Edition – 3 September 2007 Steel industry players in Southeast Asia and market watchers voiced their concerns in this article on the billet futures contract that the London Metal Exchange plans to launch in Asia next April. Mr T V Narendran, Deputy President for Operations, commented, "There are clearly some benefits as well as some downsides or concerns. We will need to wait and watch... We are looking at the contract and the options to hedge our exposure," noting that NatSteel Asia has to commit prices for one year whereas its costs vary with scrap costs.
	Project Smoke Out HRM Singapore, Issue 7.7 NatSteel Asia's efforts in promoting a smoke-free culture were featured prominently in this two-page article on how organisations help employees quit smoking. "We realised from our annual lifestyle and health practices survey that we have a 'significant' smoker population (30% versus national average of 17%). We thus made it our target to reduce the number of smokers," said Liu Fang Joo, Senior Vice-President for Human Resource & Corporate Communications. "As a Work-Life Excellence Award winner, NSA sees these initiatives as part of our holistic approach in helping our staff achieve work-life balance. By being healthier and 'cig-free', our staff can enjoy a more enriching life both on the personal front and for their family (less passive smokers), and be a more productive worker." The article includes a testimonial from Mohd Yasin, a NatSteel Asia staff who quit smoking after participating in the company's smoking cessation programme.
	More companies intend to employ older workers Lianhe Zaobao, 8 August 2007 NatSteel Asia was mentioned in the article for our efforts in employing older workers. As one of the companies on the Advantage! Scheme (which has been enhanced), NatSteel Asia hires 413 employees who are aged 40 and above. The company intends to use the monies from this scheme to enhance procedures/systems to help those aged 62 and above to continue to be employed.
	Building material suppliers in crunch too Business Times, 6 July 2007 This Business Times article was a continuation from the day's front page story — "Building costs climb with industry boom". Mr T V Narendran, Deputy President for Operations was quoted on why steel prices alone have little impact on property prices. "Steel accounts for about 5 per cent of the project's costs," he explained. "So even a 15-20 per cent increase in steel prices has an impact of less than one per cent on project cost."
	Preparing for growth Metal Bulletin Monthly, May 07, Issue 437 In this article that captures the outlook on six regional countries (including Singapore and Vietnam), Mr Oo Soon Hee, President & CEO and Mr T V Narendran, Deputy President for Operations shared about NatSteel Asia's optimistic views on Singapore and Vietnam's steel industry. Singapore is seeing "an upturn in the property market that is triggering increased construction activity," said Mr Narendran. On Vietnam, Mr Oo spoke about the Vietnamese steel market which has been growing at a healthy rate over the past five years. "NatSteel Asia believes the market for steel products in Vietnam will continue to grow at a strong pace as consumption of steel products in Vietnam on a per capita basis is relatively low."
	Tata's Asian reinforcement SteelWEEK Online, 7 May 2007 Where does NatSteel Asia perceive the Asian steel market to be in the next five years? What are the challenges faced in China? How does the company manage competition? "Tata Steel and NatSteel Asia are very bullish about the regional economies," said Mr T V Narendran, Deputy President for Operations. "Singapore and Malaysia are relatively mature markets, but we are seeing a resurgence of construction activity particularly in Singapore." He added that the companies are definitely looking at regional expansion, especially in the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. In this interview conducted by SteelWEEK Online's Talking Heads segment, he also spoke on the growing sales of construction steel and NatSteel Asia's production capacity in the region.
	MC Check-up: The true cost of employee sickness HRM Singapore, Issue 7.3 Like it or not, MCs have an impact on a company's productivity, profitability and morale. HRM Singapore penned a story on this topic, with a case study on NatSteel Asia in which Liu Fang Joo, Senior Vice-President for Human Resource & Corporate Communications was interviewed. She highlighted the importance of having a holistic approach when it comes to promoting health at work. "Activities that promote health are just one side of the equation," she said. "Policies that support work-life balance are the other — these ensure the sustainability of the programme."
	May Day Awards 2007 The Straits Times, 1 May 2007 NatSteel Asia's President & CEO Mr Oo Soon Hee has been conferred the Medal of Commendation by NTUC. This award recognises leaders who are proactive in enhancing industrial relations between the company and union. Said Fauzie Omar Altway, General Secretary of NatSteel Employees' Union: "Mr Oo's consultative approach and this recent change for the matured workers show not only an enlightened management, but one that genuinely cares for the workforce."
	NatSteel Asia plans downstream acquisitions Steel Business Briefing, SBB Daily Briefing, Global Edition, 25 April 2007 NatSteel Asia has plans to raise its long product rolling capacity by around 50 per cent over the next five to six years through acquisitions. "We will continue with whatever steelmaking capacity we have, but in any new acquisition, the focus will be more on downstream facilities rather than upstream," said Mr T V Narendran, Deputy President for Operations. The article also highlighted NatSteel Asia's/Tata Steel's production capacities — about 2 million tonnes per annum in steelmaking and 3.5 to 4 million tonnes per annum in rolling.
	Raising the bar The Straits Times, Scholars' Choice II, 10 February 2007 NatSteel Asia Scholar Arthur Tay, a senior executive/engineer from the company's cut-and-bend operations, was featured in Scholars' Choice II, The Straits Times' supplement for potential scholars. For Arthur, the evident opportunities for roles in management was the key factor which made NatSteel Asia's scholarship stand out amongst the rest. "After I was told during the scholarship interview that the company was looking to groom business leaders," he said, "I decided not to pursue my applications to other companies." In fact, he had declined two renowned government scholarships to pursue the NatSteel Asia Scholarship instead. Although his strengths span from math to management, he knew – even at the age of 19 – that the former would cease to attract him in the long-term. Meanwhile, management was a challenge that he was certain he'd take on with gusto, and he believed that in the long run, "raising productivity and managing customers and workers would be a well-rounded challenge".
	Tata Steel expands reach in Asia through buyouts SteelWEEK, Vol. 12, No. 45, 26 January 2007 In a climate charged with mergers and acquisitions, Tata Steel has further anchored its position in Asia through its wholly-owned subsidiary — NatSteel Asia. The company now fully owns NatSteel Trade and NatSteel (Xiamen), which are based in Singapore and China's Fujian province respectively. As the group's trading arm, NatSteel Trade plays a key role in raw material sourcing and product exports. As a supplier of reinforcement bars and wire rods, the Xiamen operations will also be better integrated with Singapore's. Said Mr Oo Soon Hee, President & CEO of NatSteel Asia: "Our plans to expand NatSteel Asia's footprint within the region are on track. Together with the group's investment of Tata Steel (Thailand) in March this year, this acquisition will strengthen NatSteel Asia's position as the largest steel producer in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)."
	Tata Steel consolidates its position in SE Asia Steel Business Briefing, SBB Daily Briefing, Global Edition, 26 January 2007 Tata Steel has widened its influence in Southeast Asia via NatSteel Asia, its wholly-owned subsidiary. The latter has amassed an equity stake worth SGD29million in NatSteel Trade, NatSteel (Xiamen) and NatSteelVina. These companies operate in Singapore, China's Fujian province, and Vietnam's Thai Nguyen province respectively. Today, NatSteel Trade and NatSteel (Xiamen) are wholly-owned by NatSteel Asia. The company has also increased its stake in NatSteelVina to 56.5 per cent.
	Work-Life Work$ Channel NewsAsia, 11 January 2007 NatSteel Asia was featured in "Work-Life Work$", a documentary by Channel NewsAsia (CNA) on selected Work-Life Excellence Award winners. Commissioned by the Ministry of Manpower, the documentary was a four-part series which kicked off with a feature on NatSteel Asia and another organisation. Oo Soon Hee, President & CEO of NatSteel Asia; Liu Fang Joo, Senior Vice-President of Human Resource & Corporate Communications; and Koh Lok Lan (left), Head of Shift of Merchant Bar Mill, were interviewed by the CNA crew regarding the company's work-life practices. The documentary had a repeat broadcast on these dates: 12 January 07, 10.30am; 15 January 07, 1.30pm; and 16 January 07, 5.30pm.

2005

2006