JULYASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK9NEWSROOMSOUTH KOREAN STEELMAKER POSCO TO EXPAND CORE BUSINESS BY INVESTING KRW 121 TRILLIONAPPLE BECOMES FIRST COMPANY TO CROSS $3 TRILLION VALUATIONThe POSCO Group, a South Korean company that manufactures steel and other materials and is led by POSCO Holdings, announced on Monday that it will invest 121 trillion won ($93 billion) by 2030 to expand its core industries, which include steel, battery materials, and hydrogen.In order to become a global leader in environmentally friendly materials, POSCO stated in a statement that it wants to invest 72 trillion won, or more than 60 percent of the entire sum, in South Korea. This will generate an estimated 330,000 employment. The remaining sum will be invested abroad.In order to diversify, POSCO Group has been entering new markets, such as lithium minerals, which are utilized in electric vehicle batteries.Last month, General Motors Co and group affiliate POSCO Future M said they will expand the production capacity at their chemical battery materials facility in Canada, taking their estimated total investment to over $1 billion.In 2020, POSCO announced a plan to become net-zero by 2050, including a 10 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 versus the 2017-2019 average. Apple Inc. became the first corporation in the world to surpass a market value of $3 trillion, supported by forecasts that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates more gradually and aspirations for its growth into new markets.In a month highlighted by investor enthusiasm in the promise of artificial intelligence, the iPhone maker's increase was among the most notable. Share purchasers also showed a preference for businesses with robust balance sheets and cash flows.The most recent quarterly report from Apple, released in May, which revealed that its revenue and profitability above analysts' estimates, as well as its history of stock buybacks, strengthened its reputation as a secure investment in times of economic turmoil worldwide.In a similar vein, Tesla Inc., a manufacturer of electric vehicles, saw a 28 percent increase in market value in June.Deals rival automakers Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. made to utilize Tesla's charging network which might make Tesla's chargers the industry standard--fueled Tesla's growth.Elsewhere Investors bet on Nvidia Corp's potential to become a major benefactor of an artificial intelligence boom, and as a result, the company's market worth increased by 11.8 percent last month, bringing its valuation up to the $1 trillion level.
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