Taking President Lee Jae-myung’s state visit to India as an opportunity, Korea’s business community is announcing a series of investment plans in India, lending momentum to its “Global South” strategy targeting new markets. POSCO plans to invest around KRW 10 trillion jointly with JSW Steel, India’s largest steelmaker, to build an integrated steel mill in Odisha State, India, with a capacity to produce 6 million tons of crude steel. This fulfills a long-cherished goal 22 years in the making. Samsung and Hyundai Motor have also decided to build research and development (R&D) centers in India.

On the 20th (local time) in India, POSCO signed a joint venture agreement (JVA) under which POSCO and JSW Steel will each invest a 50% stake and complete a local steel mill by 2031. An integrated steel mill refers to a steelworks that includes all processes such as molten iron production, impurity removal, and rolled steel product manufacturing.

Since 2004, POSCO has attempted four times to enter India with an upstream-process (molten iron production and impurity removal) steel mill, but the efforts were aborted due to difficulties in securing a joint venture partner and land. Since then, while proceeding with investments in downstream processes (final steel product manufacturing), POSCO has strengthened its partnership with JSW Steel and continued to seek business opportunities in India. POSCO stated, “Even when Pohang Steelworks was flooded by Typhoon Hinnamnor in 2022, JSW Steel readily provided POSCO with equipment that had been under fabrication for its hot-rolled plant, enabling rapid restoration of the Pohang plant. The partnership between the two companies is therefore very solid.”

On the same day, POSCO President Lee Hee-keun said, “By combining POSCO’s steel technology with JSW Steel’s local competitiveness, we will do our utmost to make a tangible contribution to industrial development and economic growth in both countries.”

Samsung has decided to build an advanced product manufacturing and innovation R&D center in India, while Hyundai Motor will establish a comprehensive R&D center for emerging markets. HD Hyundai is also reviewing investment in a comprehensive shipyard in India. Hyosung is operating a spandex plant in India.

Meanwhile, President Lee proposed that “Korea should harness India’s dynamism as a new sail and expand the current trade volume to more than double.” Attending the Korea-India Business Forum held in New Delhi, India, he presented a blueprint for a qualitative leap in bilateral economic cooperation focused on three key areas: trade and investment, high-tech industries, and culture.

The forum was attended by some 600 participants, including government officials and business leaders from both countries. From Korea, about 250 people took part, including Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, POSCO Holdings Chairman Chang In-hwa, and HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun. From India, participants included business leaders in chemicals, steel, bio, and materials, such as Sanmar Group Chairman Vijay Sankar and Essar Group Vice Chairman Ravikant Ruia.

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