New Delhi: Tata Steel has been declared the best steel company in the world in a ranking released in New York by the World Steel Dynamics, a leading steel information service provider.

Based on a set of 20 criteria, ranging from cash operating costs to stock market performance of the last three years, World Steel Dynamics ranked Tata Steel as the best of the 23 world-class steel makers.

South Korean giant Posco, which is gearing up to set up a plant in Orissa, was ranked second, followed by Russian giant Severstal.

Tata Steel is looking at acquiring some more steel companies in South-east Asia and China, after having acquired Singapore's Natsteel.

According to B Muthuraman, managing director, Tata Steel, the company is planning to invest up to Rs250 billion over the next five years with the aim of attaining annual capacity of 15 million tonnes. He said a significant amount of funds for the planned new investments will come from internal resources and that there is no immediate plan to go to the market to borrow funds.

Tata Steel has acquired land both in Orissa and Chhattisgarh to set up steel plants in those states and will be applying for taking mines on lease. Currently, the company produces 5-million-tonnes tonnes of steel at Jamshedpur and would be adding another 2-million tonnes for which the company was planning to place orders for the machinery next month, Muthuraman said.