A Taiwanese consortium will soon file an application with the government to invest in a petrochemical complex in China, as per the Petrochemical Industry Association of Taiwan. The consortium is planning to set up a joint venture with Beijing-based Sinopec Group to build oil refining and naphtha cracking plants in the Gulei Development Zone in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, with each side holding a 50-percent stake, according to association spokesman Jack Shieh. The group is comprised of eight companies, including Ho Tung Petrochemical Corp., Hsin Tay Petroleum Co., LCY Chemical Corp. and USI Corp. The other four are Asia Polymer Corp, TSRC Corp. Grand Pacific Petrochemical Corp. and BOC Lienhwa Industrial Gases Co.
The application will be the first since the government officially lifted its ban on investment by Taiwan's petrochemical sector in naphtha cracking facilities in China on Oct. 1. Certain restrictions still apply to such investment projects, however, including that one company is only allowed to take part in one project, according to revised regulations issued by the Economics Ministry. Also, the company must hold more than a 50 percent stake in the project or hold control over the operations of certain product lines, and must give priority to supplying Taiwan's domestic needs, the regulations stipulate.
16-Oct-13 
