SMM Officially Launches Indonesia and Malaysia SHG Zinc CIF Premium Prices

With the rapid growth of the galvanizing, die-casting, and alloy industries across Southeast Asia, regional zinc consumption has continued to rise, supported by expanding import volumes. Indonesia and Malaysia have become the most representative zinc ingot import and trading hubs in the region. Malaysia hosts a mature industrial base for galvanized sheet, die-casting, and alloy production, resulting in stable and active zinc demand. In contrast, Indonesia’s zinc consumption has grown at one of the fastest rates in Southeast Asia, driven by infrastructure and manufacturing expansion, yet the country remains heavily dependent on imports due to limited local smelting capacity.

Under this market landscape, CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight) trade has become the mainstream model for imported zinc ingots, with shipments from China, South Korea, and Australia frequently delivered to major ports such as Port Klang, Johor, Jakarta, and Surabaya. However, due to fragmented information sources and inconsistent quotation standards, the market has long lacked a unified and transparent price reference.

To address this gap, Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) has officially launched two new price assessments as of October 31, 2025 — the SHG Zinc Premium, CIF Malaysia and the SHG Zinc Premium, CIF Indonesia. These assessments aim to provide a reliable and verifiable benchmark for traders, smelters, and downstream consumers, improving transparency and standardization in regional zinc trade pricing.

Both prices are based on the LME Official Cash Seller & Settlement as the underlying benchmark and reflect the CIF arrival premium levels for SHG zinc ingots from major exporting origins (China, South Korea, Australia) at key Southeast Asian ports — including Port Klang and Johor (Malaysia), and Jakarta and Surabaya (Indonesia). Price assessments follow SMM’s official methodology, managed and published by SMM’s London office analysts. Updates are released daily at 19:00 local time in Malaysia (GMT+8) and 18:00 local time in Indonesia (GMT+7), simultaneously on the SMM Chinese website (smm.cn) and the English website (metal.com).

These price assessments holds broad market significance in enhancing price transparency and pricing efficiency across the Southeast Asia region.

1. For buyers: provides a reliable procurement reference for import quotations, cost calculation, and contract settlement, strengthening negotiation efficiency amid market volatility.
2. For sellers: offers a fair and transparent pricing basis for export quotations, reducing disputes and supporting more standardized, efficient trade.
3. For the regional market: serves as a consistent benchmark for zinc ingot pricing, enhancing price discovery and integration across Southeast Asia as part of SMM’s broader regional coverage (Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand).

The launch of these two CIF premium assessments marks an important step in expanding SMM’s global zinc pricing network, supporting cross-regional trade, cost management, and contract benchmarking. SMM will continue to refine its assessment mechanisms, incorporate market feedback, and promote greater transparency, efficiency, and healthy development within Southeast Asia’s zinc industry.

Effective Date: October 31, 2025

Contact: Yueang He — Zinc & Lead Analyst, SMM London Office

Email: yueanghe@smm.cn ｜ Tel/WhatsApp: +44 07522173725