TOKYO: Nippon Steel, Japan’s biggest steelmaker, expects its annual global crude steel production capacity to rise to at least 100 million metric tons by 2030 from 86 million now, as it plans investment-driven expansion in its key growth markets, it said on Friday.

In June, Nippon Steel closed a $15 billion deal to buy U.S. Steel and pledged to invest $11 billion in the company, to be increased later, as it seeks to strengthen its presence in the U.S. market amid weak steel demand in Japan.

Following the deal, Nippon Steel’s global crude production capacity rose from 66 million tons, with foreign capacity now accounting for 42 million tons.

Aside from the U.S., the company sees India, Thailand, and Europe as its growth markets, as it aims to counter the pressure from China’s steel export oversupply.

“Excluding China’s state-owned companies, we aim to restore our position as the world’s No. 1 steelmaker by the fiscal year of 2030,” President Tadashi Imai told a media briefing, as the company wants to be a global leader in production, revenue, its global reach, and technology.

Nippon Steel plans capital and business investments of 6 trillion yen ($38.54 billion) over the next five years, with overseas investments, including U.S. Steel, totalling 4 trillion yen, he said.

Such spending means free cash flow is expected to be negative over the five-year horizon, and Nippon Steel is looking for the best financing options, Imai said, without providing specifics on the funding instruments.

Nippon Steel targets 1 trillion yen or more in underlying business profit, or profit adjusted for one-offs, under its 2030 management plan, up from 680 billion yen forecast for the year ending in March.

The company aims to boost its overseas business profit to over 500 billion yen by the fiscal year 2030, up from 115 billion yen currently, as investments in the U.S. and India should start paying off, Imai said.

Reuters