Gov’t vows active support for POSCO’s 73 tln-won investment plan

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok visited a plant of POSCO Holdings Inc. on Thursday and vowed to extend active support for the top steelmaker to implement a major investment plan smoothly, his office said. Choi visited POSCO's plant in the southeastern port city of Pohang, along with Oceans Minister Kang Do-hyung and First Vice Industry Minister Park Sung-taek, for a meeting with POSCO President Jeong Ki-seop, POSCO Future M Co. CEO Yoo Byeong-og and other senior officials, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. POSCO has presented a plan to invest 73 trillion won (US$53.34 billion) in steelmaking, rechargeable batteries and other new growth engines by 2030. "The government will actively support POSCO for its implementation of the investment plan in new industry fields without a hitch," Choi said. "Swift and active corporate investment is crucial to recover the real economy and to secure sustainable growth momentum." In an effort to nurture corporate investment, the government has been pushing f or a set of reform measures, as well as providing tax incentives and green financing and supporting infrastructure projects. The government shortened due administrative procedures for POSCO's project to build hydrogen reduction ironmaking facilities, called HyRex, by 11 months, which will allow the steelmaker to begin the construction work in June 2025, according to the ministry. The company plans to convert furnaces at its plants in Pohang and the southern port of Gwangyang into HyRex facilities, as it aims to achieve near-zero carbon dioxide emissions by utilizing CO2-free hydrogen and electricity. POSCO President Jeong said his company will implement the investment project as planned, and asked for the government's continued backing for creating a better investment environment, the ministry said. Source: Yonhap News Agency