POSCO chief pledges to speed up restructuring

[THE INVESTOR] POSCO Chairman Kwon Oh-joon on Aug. 31 pledged that the nation’s No. 1 steelmaker will speed up the ongoing restructuring process to substantially complete it by March next year, when his term expires.

After the revamp, he hinted at new investments to produce more lucrative automotive sheets and other value-added materials such as lithium, nickel and titanium. 

“Since I took office in 2014, about 64 percent of the restructuring target has been achieved. We aim to complete 80 percent of the revamp before my term expires in March next year,” he said during a news conference in Thailand marking the completion of the company’s first automotive steel plate plant in the Southeast Asian country.

Thus far, POSCO has carried out a total of 149 restructuring projects, including the sale of affiliates and assets, through which it has secured about 4.6 trillion won (US$4.10 billion) in cash. The ultimate target is 7.7 trillion won.

“So far we have focused on improving financial soundness. From now, we will ramp up efforts for growth, including new investments,” he said.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)