Nippon Steel Corp., which formally combined on 1 October with Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd., will push to accelerate cost cuts in a bid to become more competitive with steelmakers in China and South Korea.

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp., as the new company is known, will streamline production lines at domestic steelworks, moving forward a plan to save 150 billion yen (US$1.9 billion) annually three years after integration, said Shoji Muneoka, who was appointed chief executive officer of the Tokyo-based company today. Closing blast furnaces will also be considered in the longer term, he said...

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