Industry News

1、 Requirements and Application Scenarios
Modular buildings drive growth
From January to May 2025, Guangdong's exports of modular buildings to Hong Kong reached 1.39 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 230%, with a surge in demand for light steel keel as the core component.
The application of light steel keel in high-rise buildings and public facilities is driven by large-scale infrastructure projects in Hong Kong, such as the expansion of Dubai Maktoum International Airport requiring 2 million tons of steel bars.
Green building policy support
Hong Kong has implemented mandatory energy-saving building materials standards, and light steel joists have received policy support due to their 100% recyclability, leading to an increasing trend in the penetration rate of adaptable buildings.
The new national standard GB/T 11981-2024 will be implemented (effective from May 2025) to promote product standardization and improve fire resistance levels (such as A-level sandwich keel).

2、Supply Chain and Competitive Landscape
Significant advantages in cross-border trade
Guangdong Hong Kong jointly released the "Guidelines for Cross border Trade of Modular Buildings with 'Assembly and Synthesis'", optimizing customs clearance processes and reducing logistics costs.
Hong Kong building materials companies (such as Tongzhong International) rely on mainland manufacturing bases (200+specialty stores) to build a "front store, back factory" supply network, with annual production capacity covering the Southeast Asian market.
International brand localization competition
China's low-priced steel has impacted the market (with an average export price decrease of 18.7% year-on-year in 2024), but Hong Kong customers are more inclined towards high priced and high-quality products (such as the stable market share of the Emsteel Group).
European and American companies are affected by tariff barriers (with the highest US steel tariff on China reaching 125%) and are turning to Vietnam and South Korea for re export trade.

3、 Challenge and Innovation
Cost and technical barriers
The installation of light steel keel requires a professional construction team, and labor costs account for 40% of the total project cost, while the labor shortage in the construction industry in Hong Kong has intensified.
The design of irregular walls increases material loss by 15% -25%, and the cost of thickening the keel above 0.6mm is 20% higher than that of the 0.5mm standard type.
Technological upgrades to meet demand
The popularization of BIM technology has achieved a construction accuracy of ± 1.5mm, and the laser positioning device has increased the qualified rate of ceiling flatness to 99.2%.
The new sandwich keel (rock wool layer) reduces the thermal conductivity coefficient to 0.035W/(m · K), meeting the fire protection requirements of high-rise buildings.