Balli Steel Expands Further Into Asian Steel Markets With The
Appointment Of Gianpiero Repole
Released
on: October 22, 2009, 6:58 am
Author: Balli
Steel
Industry: Industrial
Balli
Steel, one of the world's largest privately owned independent
commodity traders, has furthered its expansion plans into the
Asian steel market with the appointment of Mr Gianpiero Repole
as Business Development Director. Gianpiero joins Balli Steel
from Noble Commodities where he held the position of Executive
Vice President of Steel in Hong Kong.
Gianpiero's
appointment is part of a strategic move by Balli
Steel to strengthen its operations in the increasingly significant
Asian steel market with a specific focus on China which now accounts
for approximately 50% of both world steel production and global
consumption.
Gianpiero
has pan-Asian experience of the steel market and an extensive
network of contacts which spans the region. He will spend a considerable
amount of time travelling across the company's network of offices
and will be constantly promoting the business in both established
and new markets. Gianpiero will also focus on increasing Balli
Steel's share of the flatroll trading market and looking at ways
of maximizing revenue across the company's Asian operations.
Vahid
Alaghband, Chairman of Balli Group, commented: "We are very
pleased that Gianpiero has joined Balli Steel as his experience
and contacts will be invaluable to us as we look to expand our
trading operations across the Asian markets. We see a number of
strong opportunities for Balli Steel in the region over the next
18 months and believe that we are now well positioned to capitalise
on these prospects."
Gianpiero
Repole commented: "My new role at Balli Steel is an exciting
challenge, which brings with it countless opportunities to promote
the company's operations across Asia. My appointment coincides
with a considerable strengthening in the Chinese steel market
as both production and consumption levels continue to rise."
Figures
from the World Steel Association show that crude steel production
in China increased by 5.4% year-on-year in August 2009, whilst
global production declined by 18.1% over the same period.
Balli
Steel estimates that Chinese steel production already stands at
over 400 million tonnes in the first seven months of this year
compared with 560 million tonnes during the whole of 2008 and
only 200 million tonnes as recently as 2000. Increased supply
has enabled China to become one of the leading exporters of steel,
joining the ranks of the EU and Japan, with exports exceeding
20 million tonnes.
Nasser
Alaghband, Director of Balli Steel commented: "The fortunes
of the Asian and GCC steel markets have reversed over the past
20 years. In the 1990s and early 2000s the Middle East steel market
was booming, however, now it is the Asian markets, led by China
that has a dominant global position, whilst the Middle East markets
remain subdued. We expect this trend to continue as the Chinese
and Indian economies expand and we have already identified a number
of key opportunities for Balli Steel across the
region."
-Ends-
About
Balli Holdings
Balli Holdings is a large private, multi-national corporation,
headquartered in London, with offices in Dubai and other key business
hubs around the world.
Balli
was established in 1982 and operates a number of affiliated companies
specialising in commodity trading, industrial, real estate and
private equity with operations in over 20 countries. Together
with its affiliated companies, Balli employs over 2,000 people
worldwide.
Balli
Steel is the company's principal operating subsidiary, and is
one of the largest independent traders of steel in the world.
Balli Steel provides raw materials and steel to a number of market
segments including steel mills, steel service centres, pipe and
tube makers, the oil and gas industry and other designated end-user
segments such as the packaging products industry.
Contact Details: Alex Lawrie
TTA Group Offices
Central London Office
7 Hertford Street
London
W1J 7RH
020 7886 0300
www.balli.co.uk
2025
