S.Korea's POSCO to invest $400 mln in factories

SEOUL, Dec 21 (Reuters) POSCO Co. Ltd. , the world's third-largest steel maker, plans to invest $400 million in overseas steel processing factories by 2010, the company said on Thursday.

South Korea's top steel producer said in a statement it aims for $4 billion in annual sales of processed steel products by setting up 40 processing units.

POSCO, which has 14 steel processing facilities in countries such as Japan, India and Thailand, plans to build 11 more factories by the end of 2007, boosting annual steel processing capacity to 3.4 million tonnes from the current 1.8 million.

The 11 factories will be located in China, Japan and Mexico, a company spokeswoman said by telephone.

On Thursday, POSCO held a ceremony to mark the completion of a steel processing factory in India, which produces steel plates for cars.

The South Korean steel maker, which is estimated to have around 1.5 trillion won ($1.62 billion) in cash, has been seeking growth opportunities outside its home country.

Last month, POSCO said it planned to invest a total of $1.13 billion in Vietnam for hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel plants by 2012.

Shares in POSCO closed down 0.32 percent at 314,000 won as the broader market <.ks11> ended 0.4 percent lower.

($1=927.1 Won) REUTERS CS DS1446