Codelco, the Chilean state-owned mining company that is the world's largest copper producer, said it planned to triple copper sales in Southeast Asia by 2023 and expand further into India to reduce its reliance on the single market, according to media reports.
It is understood that Codelco will open a new office in Singapore in August, which will lead customers in Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand, and will also be responsible for developing the Indian market. Codelco expects these markets to lead the world in copper consumption growth over the next 20 years.
Copper prices fell sharply after the novel coronavirus outbreak, and as the global economy recovered, demand for copper began to recover, pushing copper prices higher.
As major car companies have announced the goal of electrification transformation, analysts generally believe that the electrification of the automobile industry will boost the market's long-term demand for copper. Copper is an important material for the production of electric vehicles, the production of an electric car requires about four times as much copper as traditional cars, electric piles also need a lot of copper wire to maintain operation. As a result, David Neuhauser, founder and managing director of hedge fund Livermore Partners, calls copper "new oil" and believes it has great potential over the next five to 10 years.
Southeast Asia and India together account for about 8 per cent of global refined copper consumption, which is expected to exceed 20 per cent by 2040, according to Carlos Alvarado, vice-president of Codelco.
According to Alvarado, Codelco's business strategy is to strengthen its leadership in the US market, build long-term alliances with end customers in Europe and Asia, and increase investment in emerging markets such as Southeast Asia and India.
