FACTBOX-Asia's major steel capacity expansion plans

Thu Sep 24, 2009 2:47am EDT

Sept 24 (Reuters) - Asia's steelmakers plan to ramp up capacity over the next few years to tap potentially strong demand from emerging economies.

Steelmakers in South Korea, Japan's biggest export market, plan to invest more than $8 billion this year to raise their combined capacity to more than 70 million tonnes in 2010 from 60 million in 2008, threatening Japanese suppliers.

Following is the schedule of major capacity additions by Asia's large steelmakers.

SOUTH KOREA

* POSCO (005490.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world's 6th-largest steelmaker, is building a 2 million tonnes-a-year ship plate production facility to become the world's top ship plate supplier by 2011, with 7.25 million tonnes of capacity. It aims to boost its overall steel capacity by 18 percent to 40 million tonnes by 2011.

* Hyundai Steel (004020.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) will build two blast furnaces by 2011, raising its capacity by two thirds to 20 million tonnes.

* Dongkuk Steel Mill (001230.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is adding 1.5 million tonnes of thick plate capacity in 2010.

CHINA

* Baosteel (600019.SS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the listed unit of China's largest steelmaker, plans to build a 10 million tonnes-a-year plant in 2011, while Wuhan Iron and Steel (600005.SS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) plans another plant of the same capacity also in 2011.

TAIWAN

* Dragon Steel, a unit of China Steel (2002.TW: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), will complete a 2.5 million tonnes-a-year plant in early 2010. It then plans to build another plant with a similar capacity in 2012.

INDIA

* Tata Steel (TISC.BO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and JSW Steel (JSTL.BO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) plan to build one 3 million tonnes-a-year plant each by the year ending March 2011. They may raise capacity at existing plants, rather than building new plants. (Reporting by Yuko Inoue in TOKYO and Miyoung Kim in SEOUL, Editing by Ian Geoghegan)