South Korea's steelmakers plan to spend $16.02 billion in capital investments in the next three years on equipment to reduce greenhouse gases and energy consumption, the government said.
Top executives of the country's steel companies, including the world's fourth-ranked POSCO have said they would spend a total of 6.96 trillion won in capital investments in 2010, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in a statement. In 2011, the companies will invest 5.85 trillion won and another 5.90 trillion won in 2012, the ministry said.
The plan came after Nippon Steel Corp and China's Baosteel, the world's second- and third-biggest steelmakers, warned of pressure on prices from China ramping up output, even as signs of improved demand bolstered their quarterly earnings.

Nippon Steel Corp., the world's second-largest steelmaker, would deepen construction beam production cuts after stockpiles climbed to the highest in eight months amid slumping demand from builders.
The company will cut output of H-beams by about 70 percent next month, Tomotaka Fujiwara, general manager of the construction materials and product sales division said. The Japanese steelmaker has so far produced the metal at about 50 to 60 percent below normal levels, Fujiwara said, without giving specific details. Demand for construction steel is lagging behind a recovery in orders from carmakers, which benefit from Japanese government incentives for fuel efficient vehicles.
The nation's housing starts fell 37 percent in September from a year earlier. Inquiries and shipments remain low even during a high demand season. It will take more time to see a recovery. Nippon Steel is Japan's second- largest maker of the girders. H-beam stockpiles at Tokiwakai, a group of local distributors that sells products for Tokyo-based Nippon Steel, rose 1.4 percent to 232,100 metric tons at the end of October, compared with 228,900 tons a month earlier.
Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co., Japan's larger maker of girders, had announced a plan to cut prices of all products for November contract, the first reduction in seven months as demand falls. The company's November prices of H-beams are set at $723 a ton, 5,000 yen, or 7.1 percent, lower than a month earlier.

Yieh United Steel Corporation and Tang Eng, two big stainless steel makers in Taiwan, kept the price unchanged in the second half of November.
Recently, because of the fluctuating nickel price, most buyers are holding an attitude to wait and see. With few real transactions, the market confidence has fallen to a low level.
According to the statistics, the average nickel price on the LME dropped to USD 17,400 per ton in early November.

Japan's crude steel output fell 12.9 percent in October from a year earlier to 8.79 million tons, in its 13th successive monthly drop, the Japan Iron and Steel Federation said.
Global stimulus measures have boosted steel demand in China and activated car and electronics factories in Japan, benefiting big steelmakers such as Nippon Steel Corp and JFE Holdings Inc.
According to a report, analysts expect a recovery in steel output to be sustained for a while, although growth momentum could slow later this year because of an oversupply from China.
Japanese makers of transport equipment, including carmakers, last month forecast a 5 percent rise in output for November from October, according to a survey by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Manufacturers have ramped up output in recent months as companies restock after aggressively working down inventories to cope with a plunge in global demand since late last year.

Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co., Japan's largest maker of construction girders, will increase prices of some products by as much as 4.2 percent because of rising raw material costs.
The Tokyo-based company will raise the price of construction products including deformed steel bar, wire rod, and I-beam by $22.3 a metric ton for contracts starting next month, it said.
Rising steel production in China, the world's largest maker, will likely spur higher costs for materials including iron ore and steel scrap, pressuring earnings for the industry, Managing Director Naoto Ohori said. Iron ore prices may rise 20 percent next year, Samsung Securities said. “Raw material costs are likely to go up,” Ohori said. “Cost increases would be unavoidable for steelmakers.”
The company will sell deformed steel bars at 50,000 yen for December. Prices of wire rods will increase to 61,000 yen next month from 59,000 yen, and I-beam will be raised to 64,000 yen from 62,000 yen, the company said.
Prices for H-beam and hot-rolled coil will be unchanged at 65,000 yen and 57,000 yen a ton respectively, it said. The mill will cut steel plate price by 2,000 yen a ton to 63,000 yen. Tokyo Steel had reduced prices for the first time in seven months in November because of lower demand.

Nippon Steel Corp., the world's second-largest producer, will boost efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions by providing energy-saving technology to rival makers in Asia. Cutting domestic emissions is important, but I think it's also our role to help Asian steelmakers to be more efficient. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who took office last month, has pledged to cut Japan's emissions by 25 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels on the proviso that all other major emitters agree to a new climate-protection treaty to be negotiated in December.
Steelmakers, the largest emitters among Japanese manufacturers, are developing technologies to curb release of greenhouse gasses. Nippon Steel started three years ago to provide technical assistance to China, which produces about half of the world's crude steel, by hosting environmental conferences and sending staff to plants. The company plans to 'do more in India from now,' he said. Japan Iron & Steel Federation Chairman Shoji Muneoka, also Nippon Steel's president, said that the government needed more extensive discussions with industries and the public on its proposed 25 percent target.

Indonesian state owed company PT Krakatau Steel will sign a JV agreement with South Korea's steel giant POSCO to build a USD 5 billion steel plant in the country.
Fazwar Bujang president of Krakatau said that the country's largest steel maker would take up to 45 percent stake in the venture. The USD 5 billion plant will be built in its vast Cilegon Industrial Complex in Banten and it should boost Krakatau's production capacity to 3.5 million tons a year from 2.5 million tons at present. The deal is expected to be finalized by the end of November 2009.

Taiwan's rebar price has been less competitive during the fourth quarter because China and Korea are offering lower prices. However, Taiwan's rebar export market has been gradually recovering recently and mills have received new orders, in particular from Korea.
Contrarily, Taiwan's small billet export market still remains sluggish because Taiwan's price offer is unacceptable to Southeast Asian buyers. Taiwan's steel mills nevertheless remain optimistic because the global billet price has risen recently in line with the increased price of scrap.