2003/2/21
Financial Times
Taiwan PVC Pipe Manufacturers Head to Mainland China
The economic boom in mainland China in recent years has boosted
demand there for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes, encouraging
leading PVC-pipe manufacturers in Taiwan to expand their
production lines across the Taiwan Strait
Petrochemical giant Formosa Plastics Corp. has
selected Ningbo, Zhejiang Province as site for its first
PVC plant in the mainland, in order to access the
deepwater harbor nearby. Nan Ya Plastics Corp., an affiliate of
Formosa Plastics Group, already has several PVC-pipe
manufacturing plants in the mainland, located in Huizhou,
Guangdong Province, Xiamen, Fujian Province, Chongqing, Sichuan
Province, Wuhu, Anhui Province, and Dongying, Shandong Province.
The company plans to further expand its operations in the
mainland by setting up a new PVC plant in Xian, Shanxi
Province soon and launching new investments in Wuhan,
Hubei Province. Seeing the potential demand for PVC pipes in
mainland China, Ocean Plastics Co. (OPC), another leading
PVC-pipe maker in Taiwan, has invested around US$8 million in a
plant in Hunan Province. In future the company will set up
comparatively smaller plants in the mainland to serve local
markets. The company's next likely investment target will be in
Hubei
Union
Petrochemical Corp., a leading petrochemical manufacturer in
Taiwan, has also set its eyes on the mainland Chinese market. The
company, which mainly produces dioctyl phthalate (DOP) for PVC,
has approved a plan to set up a US$5 million petrochemical plant
in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province to make DOP. China General
Plastics Corp., another top petrochemical maker in
Taiwan, plans to follow suit by opening a plant in the mainland
soon. A ranking official with Nan Ya points out that PVC pipes
are steadily replacing iron pipes in the mainland's construction
market due to their greater durability and rustproof character.
The official indicates that since middle- and long-distance
transportation of the large-dimension PVC pipes being made in
mainland China would be very expensive, the company early on
decided to set up plants in different provinces to meet local
needs. Each plant in the mainland can produce an average of
30,000 metric tons of PVC pipes a year, while its plant in Taiwan
can turn out 20,000 metric tons of product per month
Demand
for PVC pipes in the mainland has been rising significantly as various
construction projects for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in
Beijing get underway, and the trend is expected to continue over
the next few years. Many of Nan Ya's mainland PVC plants have
geared up to meet the expected surge in demand.
Platts
2007/1/4
Taiwan's Union Petchem to start new South China DOP line mid-Jan
Taiwan's Union Petrochemical Corp expects to start up a new
dioctyl phthalate line in Zhuhai, South China by the middle of
January, a company source said Thursday.
The new line is an expansion of the existing Zhuhai DOP plant,
which is currently capable of producing 140,000 mt/year. Once
operational, the 100,000 mt/year line will
bring the combined output of the Zhuhai plant to
240,000 mt/year.
According to market sources, the additional capacity is likely to
dampen current bullish DOP sentiment. DOP prices closed $10/mt
up, to $1,565/mt on an at sight basis, at the end of 2006 due to
rising feedstock costs.
Union Petchem is also engaged in the construction of a 45,000
mt/year Phthalic Anhydride line in the
same complex. The PA line is scheduled for completion in April or
May this year. PA together with 2EH, is used to make DOP.
"We want to sharpen our competitive edge," the source
said. "With added PA capacity, we can cut costs and are less
vulnerable to feedstock price increases. Alternatively, we can
also sell PA when margins for DOP are thin," he explained.
UPC has two other DOP plants, each capable
of producing 100,000 mt/year, in Shanghai and Zhong Shan. Both
plants are currently operating at above 90% of their nameplate
capacities. The new line would bring UPC's total DOP production
to 600,000 mt/year.
April 4, 2003 Financial Times
Nan Ya Plastics to set up one more
subsidiary in mainland China
（an
affiliate of Formosa Plastics Group）
Nan Ya Plastics Corp., the
largest local manufacturer of plastic products listed on the
Taiwan Stock Exchange, will establish a new subsidiary
manufacturer in Zhengzhou* of Henan Province, mainland China, to
produce rigid
PVC (polyvinyl chloride) tubes/pipes. * 河南省鄭州
The Investment Commission under the
Ministry of Economic Affairs approved Nan Ya Plastics' investment
project on April 1. The Investment Commission has so far
permitted the company to invest in mainland China with a
cumulative amount of US$500 million (NT$16.26 billion). However,
Nan Ya Plastics has actually invested US$360 million (NT$11.64
billion), accounting for 18.7% of the company's paid-in capital
Nan Ya Plastics has set up a number
of subsidiary manufacturers with 24 factories in around mainland China. The subsidiary manufacturers' production
covers rigid PVC tubes/pipes, rigid PVC sheets, PVC cloth, PVC
film, PU (polyurethane) leather, PE (polyethylene) film, plastic
leather, BOPP (biaxially oriented polypropylene) film, synthetic
leather, and engineering plastics
In light of mainland China's growing
demand and market growth potential for rigid PVC tubes/pipes, Nan
Ya Plastics decided to establish a new subsidiary manufacturer of
the product in Zhengzhou with annual production capacity of
30,000 metric tons. The subsidiary will have initial capital of
US$8 million and the company will invest US$4 million for a 50%
stake, with the remaining 50% stake to be shared by Taiwanese
enterprises there
Nan Ya Plastics started investment
in mainland China in 1996 and began to have return in 1999. The
company remitted back investment return of NT$100 million in
1999, NT$97.66 million in 2000, and NT$200 million in 2001. Nan
Ya Printed Circuit Board Corp., Nan Ya Plastics' domestic
subsidiary, operates an integrated PCB (printed circuit board)
factory in Kunshan of Jiangsu Province, mainland China. The
factory produces PCBs and PCB materials including copper foil,
glass fiber, glass fabric, epoxy, and copper-clad laminates
To secure power supply for Nan Ya
Printed Circuit Board's factory, Nan Ya Plastics invested US$12
million to set up a thermal power plant with monthly generating
capacity of 27.02 million kilowatt-hours beside the factory. The
power plant is under construction currently, with inauguration
slated for June this year.
June 13, 2003 Financial Times
Formosa Plastics plans acrylates
complex in China.
$150 M is to be invested by Formosa
Plastics Group in an acrylates complex at Ningbo in China. The
complex will have a capacity to produce 160,000 tonnes/y acrylic
acid and 230,000 tonnes/y esters. A polyvinyl chloride unit will also be built at the site and a
superabsorbents plant is being considered. Nippon Shkubai
technology will be used. The plant will be operated and owned by
Formosa Acrylic Esters Ningbo, a new subsidiary of Formosa
Plastics. The plant is still subject to approval from the
Taiwanese government.
Formosa Plastics Group has 4
manufacturing subsidiaries: Formosa Petrochemical; Formosa
Plastics; Formosa Chemicals & Fibre; and Nan Ya Plastics. The
subsidiaries may join forces to build a 1.5 M tonnes/y ethylene
plant at Ningbo. This plan is also subject to approval from the
government in Taiwan.
A 600,000 tonnes/y purified terephthalic acid plant is planned by Formosa Chemicals
& Fibre from Ningbo. It also intends to bring on line a
300,000 tonnes/y acrylonitrile butadiene styrene unit at the site during 2H 2004.
Permission is being sought for a 50,000 tonnes/y polycarbonate
(PC) plant. Capacity at the PC plant could be doubled at a later
date. Formosa Chemicals & Fibre intends to double capacity
for PC at Mailiao in Taiwan to 100,000 tonnes/y during 2004.
Government approval has been received by Nan Ya Plastics for a
100,000 tonnes/y polyester chip and 50,000 tonnes/y polyester
staple fibre plant at Kunsan in China that will cost NT$600 M.
Nan Ya technology will be used by the project that is due on line
in 2005.