Koralu, a unit of South Korea's largest Hyundai Group, is a leading aluminium rolled product maker in the country.

"We plan to enter the heat recycling thermo-electric power plant and smelting business sometime in the future when the country's economy gets better," Sohn Kwang-hyun, the company's executive vice president, told Reuters in an interview.

The plan would help expand Koralu's aluminium rolling mill business by enabling the company to secure stable and lower cost electric power and raw materials, Sohn said.

The plan would also enable Koralu to expand its business by producing high value added aluminium products, such as lithoprint sheet, pilfer proofing cap, annealing quality, hot plate and clad, Sohn said.

"Two firms in the United States and one firm in Hong Kong have shown interest in our plan to build the hit recycling thermo-electric power plant in Ulsan," Sohn said.

Koralu estimated an investment of 350 billion won would be needed in the 300,000 kw power plant.

The company's aluminium rolled production would rise to 350,000 tonnes by around 2005 due to rising aluminium can demand and aluminium sheet demand for the local car industry, Sohn said.

Demand for aluminium rolled sheets would rise from the current level as the group's carmaking unit, Hyundai Motors Co, is now in the process of taking over Kia Motors Corp and Asia Motors, he said.

Sohn said Koralu set its output target for aluminium rolled products at 120,000 tonnes in 1999, 150,000 tonnes in 2000 and 180,000 tonnes in 2001.

Asked about talk in the local market that Koralu was negotiating with North American aluminium majors for foreign investment, Sohn said the company has tried to improve its Financial structure, but declined to comment further.

Traders said the North American majors include Aluminium Co of America (Alcoa) and Canada's Alcan.

Foreign investors see Koralu, located in the southeastern Port city of Ulsan, as an attractive investment opportunity given its fast-growing technology and ideal location to service China and other Asian markets, the traders said.

Demand for aluminium rolled products is 228,260 tonnes on the domestic market in 1999, up 14.5 per cent from 199,600 tonnes a year ago, Sohn of Koralu said. This compared to the country's exports of 285,200 tonnes in 1997.

Aluminium rolled products exports were expected to rise to 134,000 tonnes in 1999 from 88,861 tonnes in 1998 and 63,926 in 1997, Sohn said.

"Our export markets have expanded to the United States since last year due to slowing demand in South Korea's traditional export markets in Japan, China and Southeast Asia," Sohn said.

Koralu's exports were expected to rise to 70,000 tonnes in 1999 from 56,200 tonnes in 1998, he said.

Its market share in sales on the local market was expected to rise to 21.9 per cent in 1999 from 19 per cent a year ago. Aluminium ingot sales were projected to rise to 48,360 tonnes from 36,911 tonnes in 1998, he said.