Posco expanding in Turkey and Indonesia

Korean steel giant expanding in new key markets. New plants in Turkey and Indonesia for Posco. South Korea’s Posco, the world’s fourth-biggest steel producer, opened a USD 24 million green-field investment in western Turkey. The Posco plant, located in the western city of Bursa, will process flat steel for the automotive industry, with an annual production capacity of 170,000 tons of automotive steel, POSCO said. The northwestern part of Turkey, including Bursa Province, is a key car production base for such global automakers as France's Renault S.A. and global autoparts makers like Delphi Corp. In addition, POSCO began works on the site for its first overseas and Southeast Asia’s first integrated steelworks in Indonesia. “Expanding into Indonesia that has the largest growth potential in Southeast Asia also lets us prepare against China’s expansion into the region”, said POSCO's chief executive Chung Joon-yang at a conference. The steelworks, located in Cilegon, 100 kilometers west of Jakarta, will be operated by PT. Krakatau POSCO, a joint venture between POSCO and Indonesia’s state-run steelmaker Krakatau Steel established on Sept. 27. Estimated to require an investment of $2.7 billion for the first stage, the project is the largest investment made by a foreign entity in Indonesia to date. Once complete, the plant will produce 1.5 million tons of plates and an equal amount of slab on an annual basis. A total of 17,600 people work at Posco’s 36 production facilities and the company’s assets are worth USD 37 billion. It currently has 42 steel service centers in 22 countries, including India, Brazil, the United States, Mexico, Canada, Japan and South Africa.