POSCO enjoys hefty sales in China

SEOUL, Aug. 11 (Yonhap) -- POSCO, South Korea's leading steelmaker, said Tuesday
that its sales in China increased sharply in the second quarter on the back of
the country's massive economic stimulus measures, industry sources said Tuesday.

The South Korean steelmaker shipped 926,000 tons of steel to China in the
April-June period, compared with 558,000 tons a year earlier. POSCO's steel sales
in China also fell by a mere 3.5 percent in the first quarter from a year
earlier, according to the steelmaker.
"We expect steel sales in China to continue to increase in the second half of the
year," said an official at POSCO.
The company is also expected to benefit from rising steel prices. Steel prices
have gained up to 20 percent recently largely due to rising demand.
Last month, POSCO expanded output capacity at its No. 4 furnace in the
southwestern city of Gwangyang by 60 percent, in order to meet rising steel
demand.
The blast furnace now produces 5 million metric tons of steel a year, compared
with the previous 3.1 million tons. POSCO restarted the furnace after shutting it
down in February for the upgrade.
Shares of POSCO were trading at 491,500 won on the Seoul bourse as of 11:35 a.m.,
down 0.81 percent.
sam@yna.co.kr
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