Her Excellency, Madiepetsane Charlotte Lobe, the South African High Commissioner to Singapore,
Ms. Katrina Lourie, Counsellor at the Australian High Commission in Singapore,
Mr. You Zhenhua, Chairman of Green ESteel,
Ms. Gong Hong, Vice President of Green ESteel,
It is great to see so many familiar faces here, and equally encouraging to see many new ones joining us in Singapore this week.
SIFW has become one of the most important gatherings for the global ferrous community. Last year, SIFW brought together more than 6,200 participants from over 25 countries. Those numbers continue to grow this year. It reflects the strength and importance of this industry as both a market and a community.
This shows that even in a more complex and fragmented global environment, the ferrous ecosystem remains deeply interconnected and highly engaged.
The Broader Landscape
And I think that matters. Because we are meeting at a time when the global environment is more uncertain than it has been in a long while.
Trade tensions have escalated. Policy directions are diverging across major markets. And the cost of doing business remains elevated for many in this room.
These are real challenges that affect investment decisions, trade flows, and how the industry plans for the future.
This industry, however, has always operated in a world of competing interests and shifting conditions. And what I continue to see from this community is a remarkable ability to adapt.
Green Steel: From Promise to Delivery
Green steel is a fantastic example of that.
A few years ago, the conversation was about possibility and promise of new technologies. Hydrogen-based steelmaking. Electric arc furnaces powered by renewable energy. Higher-grade iron ore as a pathway to lower emissions. These were ideas with enormous potential. But they were still largely on paper.
Today, that picture, thankfully, looks very different.
Electric arc furnace capacity now accounts for more than a third of global steel production and more than half of all new capacity under development. Countries across Asia, from India to China and even Türkiye, are actively deploying cleaner production pathways at industrial scale.
The story has shifted from ambition to execution. From promise to delivery. These technologies are no longer being debated. They are being built.
New Drivers of Steel Demand
At the same time, the forces driving steel demand are also changing.
For many years, the dominant story was urbanisation. The rapid build-out of cities, roads, and railways, particularly in China, drove the biggest expansion in steel consumption the world has ever seen.
That story may have quieted, but it is being joined by powerful new ones.
Today, two of the fastest-growing sources of demand for steel are artificial intelligence infrastructure and clean energy production.
Consider data centres. A single hyperscale data centre campus can require more than 20,000 tonnes of structural steel. Globally, data centre electricity consumption grew 17 percent last year alone. Capacity is expected to double by 2030. Every one of those facilities needs steel for structures, cooling systems, power distribution, and equipment housing.
Then consider wind energy. According to the Global Wind Energy Council, the world added a record 165 gigawatts of new wind capacity in 2025, a 40 percent increase over the previous year.
These are not niche applications. They are becoming major structural drivers of demand.
Steel at the Centre
What strikes me about all this is that, regardless of how the world changes, whether the driver is urbanisation, digitalisation, or energy security, steel remains at the centre of the growth story.
It built the cities of the last century. And it is building the data centres and wind farms of this one.
Steel’s central role in modern life has not changed. And I do not expect it to do so.
The Need for Market Infrastructure
What has changed is the complexity of the market around it.
New production technologies mean new raw material requirements. New demand drivers mean new supply chain configurations. Regulatory frameworks such as the EU carbon border mechanism are introducing new variables into how steel and its inputs are traded across borders.
In this environment, the need for price visibility and risk management is greater than ever.
Participants need reliable benchmarks. They need liquid venues for hedging. And increasingly, they need tools that reflect the growing differentiation in what is being traded, whether by grade, by geography, or by end use.
This is where market infrastructure plays a critical role.
SGX: Growing with the Market
At SGX, we continue to invest in building that infrastructure.
Our iron ore derivatives market remains the most liquid global venue for iron ore price discovery and risk management. And the growth we are seeing reflects the market's own evolution.
In 2025, our 65 percent Fe iron ore contract recorded more than 18,000 lots traded in a single day and exceeded 90,000 lots in monthly volume. Both are all-time records. Year-on-year, volumes in this contract grew by 88 percent.
That growth tells us something important. Higher-grade iron ore is becoming more relevant as production methods evolve. And participants want more precise tools to manage that exposure.
Beyond iron ore, our commodities platform spans freight through our subsidiary Baltic Exchange, as well as steel, rubber, and energy metals including lithium and cobalt. These products are designed to support risk management across the full value chain.
We are proud of these milestones. But more importantly, they reflect the trust that this community places in SGX as the venue where pricing happens and where risk is managed.
Looking Ahead
Let me close with a thought about where we are headed.
The steel industry is in the early stages of a long and important transformation. The technologies for producing steel are changing. The forces driving demand for steel are changing. And the market infrastructure supporting it all is evolving in response.
When we gather again for SIFW next year, I expect we will see further progress on all three fronts. More production capacity coming online. Deeper market participation. And an even clearer picture on how the iron ore market is adapting to a more differentiated world.
That is something worth looking forward to.
Thank you once again for being here. I encourage all of you to make the most of the conversations and connections this week. Thank you very much.
