POSCO resets portfolio, expands into energy, lithium

POSCO Group on Thursday said that it will expand its core businesses into lithium production and renewable energy as it seeks to reposition itself as a leading supplier of Korea's key industrial resources. Chairman Chang In-hwa hosted “CEO Investor Day," where he shared the group's new “triple core” business portfolio. It frames steel as an industrial resource; lithium, anode, cathode and rare earth minerals as strategic resources; and liquefied natural gas (LNG) and renewable energy as energy resources. The most anticipated venture among POSCO investors was lithium. The group said it will introduce a production capacity of 173,000 tons per year by 2033 and become one of the world’s top five producers of the mineral. The group expects its lithium-based operating profit will reach 1.8 trillion won ($1.2 billion) by 2035. POSCO produces brine lithium from Argentina, where its regional subsidiary, POSCO Argentina, turned profitable in March. The company has also acquired the Argentine government’s approval for a large investment incentive scheme. The group said it will make an ea