POSCO : CEO Jeong-woo Choi Meets Top Foreign Investors in Singapore and Presents Vision for Future Growth

The CEO held a meeting with the global asset management company BlackRock and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, explained business performance, future plans, etc., and listened to shareholders' opinions

CEO Jeong-woo Choi said, "Based on our excellent business performance and growth vision, shareholder-friendly policies and communication will be further strengthened to meet the trust and expectations of shareholders"

Implemented shareholder return worth about KRW 1.28 trillion in the first half of the year alone, including the retirement of KRW 672.2 billion in treasury stocks and KRW 606.8 billion in dividends

POSCO Group CEO Jeong-woo Choi met with the top foreign investors of POSCO Holdings in person, explained business performance and future plans, and listened to shareholders' opinions.

On Aug. 19, CEO Choi visited Singapore and met with the investment managers of global asset management company BlackRock, and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), and explained and discussed POSCO Holdings' △ performance in management and improvement of financial soundness, △ future growth business progress and plans, △ transparency in governance, and △ shareholder return policy.

CEO Choi said, "For the past four years, the POSCO Group has been striving to enhance profitability and competitiveness in its core businesses while improving financial soundness through continuous restructuring of non-core businesses. As a result, major companies such as POSCO, POSCO International, and POSCO Chemical achieved the best-ever sales and profits, and an international credit rating agency upgraded POSCO Holdings' credit rating for the first time in 10 years." CEO Choi added, "We continue to invest in new future businesses to change our business identity as a representative company of future eco-friendly materials. Based on our excellent business performance and growth vision, we will strengthen shareholder-friendly policies and communication better to meet the trust and expectations of our shareholders."

In an investor meeting on the same day, POSCO Holdings explained that the steel sector, which plays a pivotal role in the group's business, will expand sales of high-value-added products such as steel sheets for future cars and build a more competitive business system by enhancing its eco-friendly production technology capabilities. In addition, POSCO Holdings revealed that it is establishing a full value chain for secondary battery materials for the first time in the world by focusing more on the secondary battery material business centered on POSCO Holdings and vertically integrating raw materials and material businesses such as lithium, nickel, and recycling, and that tangible results are being obtained.

POSCO Holdings plans to sequentially complete and operate production facilities for the secondary battery material business, which it has been pushing forward, and expects to be able to establish it as a new source of revenue. A secondary battery recycling plant is scheduled to be completed and operated at the end of this year, followed by an ore lithium plant in 2023 and salt lake lithium plant in 2024.

POSCO Holdings held a Value Day for the secondary battery material business last month. It said it aims to produce 300,000 tons of lithium, 220,000 tons of nickel, 610,000 tons of cathode material, and 320,000 tons of anode material by 2030 to achieve 41 trillion won in sales in the secondary battery material sector alone.

In addition, POSCO Holdings explained its shareholder return policy. In 2020, the company introduced a performance-linked dividend policy to significantly increase the dividend from KRW 8,000 ~ 10,000 per share to KRW 17,000 last year, and KRW 8,000 has already been allotted in the first half of this year. Moreover, the board of directors held a meeting on the Aug. 12 and decided to retire about 2.61 million shares (KRW 672.2 billion) of treasury stock for the first time in 18 years since 2004.

POSCO Holdings implemented a total shareholder return of KRW 1.28 trillion in the first half of this year alone, including the retirement of KRW 672.2 billion in treasury stocks and KRW 606.8 billion in dividend. It plans to establish a new mid-term shareholder return policy for three years, from 2023 to 2025, at the beginning of next year.