Emerging markets such as Brazil and India still hold growth opportunities for steel producers, steelmaker ArcelorMittal (MT) said Thursday while announcing further iron ore investment plans and cost saving targets.

In its investor presentations Thursday the company said China is still a long way from hitting its peak steel demand, and concerns in the country about policy easing are "over-hyped."

"China has significant steel-intensive growth ahead," Chairman and Chief Executive Lakshmi Mittal said in a presentation for an investor day held in New York and London.

"On a cumulative per-capita basis China is still a long way from its peak steel consumption," he said.

In addition, Mittal said monetary tightening in China has slowed the pace of growth but the company doesn't forecast a collapse in the world's largest producer and consumer of steel.

China accounts for roughly half of global steel production. Some mills temporarily shut due to electricity shortages and government efforts to curb pollution.

"While Asian growth has temporarily slowed, our Asia economics team remains bullish on the region's long-term growth prospects," said Daniel Kang, head of HSBC's Asian metals and mining. He forecasts China 's steel demand growing 7.1% between 2010 and 2015.

ArcelorMittal sees emerging markets as offering the best organic growth potential for the company, Chief Financial Officer Aditya Mittal said, noting particular focus will be paid to Brazil and India.

Steel intensive government infrastructure developments in Brazil along with construction needed for the upcoming World Cup and Olympics to held in the country provide valuable growth opportunities, the company said.

ArcelorMittal's Brazilian projects currently account for 34% of the country's steel output. The company is evaluating a series of expansion projects.

In India , ArcelorMittal is now seeking access to the market through the construction of smaller projects of around 1.5 million tons to 3 million tons a year and also focus on areas where access to land is easier to attain.

The company also plans to spend $4 billion in the next five years to increase iron ore output to 100 million tons a year, a more than 50% increase.

In addition, ArcelorMittal seeks to achieve $2 billion in "management gains" by the end of 2012.

Overall, apparent steel demand between March and May this year was back at peak levels but demand in developed countries continues to recover slowly, Mittal said.

In Europe , ArcelorMittal has recovered its lost share in the auto market, although the market is smaller than it was before the crisis, and it plans to recover lost market share in the Northern European flat carbon market by the end of 2011, the company said.

The company is currently operating 18 of its 25 European blast furnaces.

Mittal also said that while raw material pricing volatility for the likes of iron ore is creating a mismatch in production costs and prices, new supply forecasts to come online will help reduce that volatility.

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