INTERVIEW-Taiwan's China Steel in tie-up talks with China firms

TAIPEI, April 15 (Reuters) - China Steel (2002.TW), Taiwan's top steel maker, is talking with three of its top China peers to jointly invest in overseas miners to take advantage of low prices and secure future supplies, its chairman said on Wednesday.

China Steel (2002.TW) is seeking possible deals with Wuhan Steel (600005.SS), Angang Steel (000898.SZ) (0347.HK) and Baoshan Iron & Steel (600019.SS), as well as Japan's Sumitomo Metal (5405.T), said China Steel's chairman, C.J. Chang.

"We are in talks with them about buying stakes in global mining companies," he told Reuters in an interview.

He added the company expects to report more losses in the first and second quarters of this year, amid weak demand and high raw material prices.China Steel reported a net loss of T$15.45 billion ($458 million) in the December quarter, as it and its global peers suffered during the global economic downturn.

(Reporting by Faith Hung and Lin Miao-jung; Editing by Ken Wills)

((faith.hung@thomsonreuters.com; +886 2 2508-0815; ReutersMessaging: faith.hung.reuters.com@reuters.net))

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