Brazil steel company invests $1.4 bn in Peru

LIMA, PERU: Brazilian steel company Gerdau SA plans to invest US$1.4 billion in its Peruvian subsidiary, in a bid to transform Peru into a regional steel powerhouse that will help fuel Brazil's own building boom.

Gerdau CEO Andre Gerdau hopes to boost annual production at his company's Siderperu unit to 3 million metric tons by 2013, creating 2,000 new jobs.

Gerdau bought a majority stake in Siderperu in 2006 for US$40.5 million. The company now produces 450,000 metric tons of steel per year.

Gerdau on Monday said his company has already spent US$122 million to improve environmental standards at Siderperu's main complex in the coastal fishing town of Chimbote.