The International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI), Brussels, has announced that it will open a second office in Beijing, China. IISI plans to open the office in April 2006.
The goal for the new office will be to improve the quality of information on developments in the Asia-Pacific region for the benefit of IISI’s worldwide membership. “The office will also reinforce IISI’s service to our members in the region,” a news release from the group comments.
The new office will be led by Dr. Nae Hee Han. Along with her responsibilities as head of the Beijing Office, Dr Han will also become IISI’s chief economist. Dr Han has a Doctorate in Economics from Pennsylvania State University and is the author of many papers on the steel industry, economic development, and steel trade issues in Asia. She joins IISI from the POSCO Research Institute (POSRI) where she was Director of the China Study Centre and Head of the POSRI Office in Beijing.
“The new office in Beijing will be a second center of excellence for IISI; it will complement the services offered by our Brussels office,” says Ian Christmas, Secretary General of IISI.
Beijing was chosen as the location for the new office after an extensive selection process. The office will initially be staffed by Dr Han and a small number of locally employed staff. In the future, international staff from IISI and Steel Fellows from our member companies will be located in the Beijing office. They will support programs being developed in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the group.