OREANDA-NEWS. February 19, 2013. POSCO was selected as the ``World`s Most Competitive Steelmaker`` for the fourth consecutive year, reported the press-centre of POSCO. 

WSD (World Steel Dynamics), a strategic information service providing critical and new perspectives on possible and probable steel industry developments, announced results of evaluations based on 23 criteria including production scale, profitability, technology innovation, pricing power, cost reduction, financial soundness, and securing raw materials, and selected POSCO as the most competitive steelmaker, on February 1st (Korea time).

In this evaluation, POSCO received a score of 7.76 points (out of a possible 10). This resulted in furthering the gap with competitors, which scored in the 7.3 range or less.

Following POSCO, Russia`s NLMK ranked second, Severstal third and India`s JWS Steel fourth, where steelmakers that own iron mines were highly evaluated for being able to secure raw materials, while Nippon Steel & Sumimoto Metal ranked fifth with high marks for synergy between the two merged companies and the decreasing value of the Japanese Yen. Meanwhile, in the order based on production amount, ArcelorMittal which is first based on production was ranked 22nd, Anshan Iron and Steel Group which is third in production was ranked 29th, Bao Shan Steel which is fourth in production was ranked 10th, and Wuhan Iron and Steel which is fifth in production was ranked 30th. Hebei Iron and Steel, which is second in production, was not included in this evaluation.

POSCO was also highly evaluated in innovative technology ability and cost competitiveness based on employees` skill level and productivity, as well as FINEX, POIST, and CEM. In addition, expansion of high value added products, cost reduction, profitability, and expansion into up-and-coming markets received high scores. Particularly, in the `M&A and Strategic Alliance` criteria, POSCO received a perfect score of 10, whereas last year`s score was an 8.

POSCO, after maintaining first place from 2002 to 2004, gave up its leading position to steelmakers in Russia and India such as Severstal and Tata Steel which have their own iron ore mines, but was able to retake its leading position after six years and has maintained it for four consecutive years through continuous cost reductions and profitability improvement, improved technology abilities, and proactive entrance into up-and-coming markets.

Meanwhile, POSCO ranked 30th in the ``Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World`` announced by Corporate Nights, a Canadian economic magazine, at the World Economic Forum in Davos. POSCO was the only global steel company ranked within the top 30. POSCO and Samsung Electronics, which followed at 73rd, were the only Korean companies to be ranked in the top 100. The World Economic Forum in Davos has been announcing the top 100 global companies with high sustainability based on evaluations by research institutions which study sustainability, since 2005.

In the last four years, POSCO has been ranked the ``World`s Most Admired Company`` in the steel field (Fortune), 43rd globally and 1st domestically as the World`s Most Reputable Company (Forbes), 30th in the Global Sustainable Company ranking, and 1st in competitiveness for four consecutive years among steelmakers (WSD), receiving high evaluations throughout the world.