Chile Codelco opens office in Singapore to boost sales to India and Southeast Asia | Economy

Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer and state-owned Chile, will try to quadruple its sales in Southeast Asia by 2023, while looking at the Indian market with interest, in an effort to reduce its dependence on China, the company said.

The miner will officially open an office in Singapore in August to serve customers from Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand and to gain business opportunities in India.

“It simply came to our notice then Codelco When both sides prioritize the consumption of red metal, it will be made with a mature business strategy, ”said Carlos Alvarado, Vice President, Marketing.

Asia is the main market for government-owned exports, which now even operate from an office in the Chinese city of Shanghai.

The mining company has worked on a start-up strategy towards those markets “It promises to be huge Global development Copper consumption in the next 20 years, ”he said.

“A key factor in strengthening our relationship with Southeast Asia and India is expecting a clear signal in the short term. China This will reduce the dependence on the import of refined copper because it will have a higher melting capacity to produce it, ”Alvarado explained.

The company currently only sells copper concentrate, blister and molybdenum in India – between US $ 150 million and US $ 300 million annually – and bilateral negotiations between Chile and India are expected to remove import tariffs, which the company details, up to 5%.

“Kodelco’s business strategy is to strengthen its leadership in supplying copper to the United States and to form long – term alliances with end customers. Europe And reducing dependence on Asia, and China, will increase participation in emerging markets in the Southeast and India, ”Alvarado said.

Southeast Asia and India account for about 8% of the world’s refined copper consumption today, and this percentage will exceed 20% by 2040, according to Kodelco data.