Taiwan wants more flexibility in liquefied natural gas (LNG) purchasing contracts to be able to better match supplies amid fluctuating demand, Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Chen (陳瑞隆) said yesterday.
Buyers want take-or-pay conditions in contracts to be eased and fewer restrictions on where liquefied natural gas cargoes can be delivered, Chen said at the South East Asia Australia Offshore Conference in Darwin, Australia.
"Removing this restriction would ease buyers' concerns over market uncertainties, allowing the diversion of surplus supplies to markets in need," Chen said.
Taiwan's demand for LNG is forecast to rise 5 percent to 8 million metric tonnes this year, increasing to 10.5 million tonnes in 2010 and 16 million tonnes in 2020.
LNG meets more than 90 percent of gas demand in Taiwan, Asia's third-largest buyer of the fuel.
"Introducing greater competition in the trade of LNG will help improve the long-term security of supply as well as create wider access to LNG sources," Chen said. "A key element to achieving these reforms would be providing LNG contracts with more flexibility."
Investment risks faced by sellers could be reduced by the use of forward contracts, futures and options, Chen said.
"These tools will be necessary to deepen the LNG market and contribute to its long-term success," he said.
Taiwan has inked four long-term agreements with Malaysia, Indonesia and Qatar. Chen said the country was keen to buy Australia LNG from Woodside's North West Shelf project. He did not elaborate.
In related news, state-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (
The price hike was attributed to LNG price increases in the international market, CPC said in a statement on its Web site.
The company said the cost of LNG imports stood at NT$12.80 per cubic meter last month, up from an average of NT$11.3 per cubic meter in the first four months of this year.
The new rates would affect all users including factories, power plants and city gas companies, the refiner said.
Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) today unveiled a long-haul network expansion plan at a shareholders’ meeting in Taipei, including direct flights to Barcelona, Spain, and Zurich, Switzerland, as well as a service connecting Taipei, Sydney and New Zealand. Starlux is to become the first Taiwanese carrier to offer non-stop services to the two European cities, while the inaugural oceanic route is expected to expand transit opportunities within the Australia-New Zealand market, Starlux said. Flight services to Chicago, Dallas, Washington and New York are under evaluation, the airline added. Prior to the shareholders’ meeting, the airline earlier this year announced that it would be
Netherlands-based semiconductor equipment supplier ASML Holding NV yesterday said that it is planning to hire an additional 1,000 people in Taiwan this year in response to growing demand from clients. ASML had previously planned to recruit 600 people this year, but that the plan has been adjusted upward, ASML vice president and ASML Taiwan general manager Grace Wang (汪佳慧) told reporters. ASML has a workforce of more than 4,500 in Taiwan, accounting for about 10 percent of its global total, Wang said. This year’s recruitment campaign would focus on adding people in the customer support, manufacturing and supply chain domains to assist ASML
UNDER MICROSCOPE: Taiwan detained three people who allegedly conspired to buy servers in Taiwan and export them using fraudulent documentation, prosecutors said Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday urged Super Micro Computer Inc to tighten up on compliance after Taiwan detained three people this week for allegedly making fraudulent declarations about artificial intelligence (AI) servers made by its US partner. The development marked the nation’s first crackdown on semiconductor smuggling, which grew after the US slapped restrictions on exports of high-end chips such as Nvidia AI accelerators to China. Nvidia is “rigorous” in explaining regulations to all of its partners, Huang told reporters after arriving in Taipei. “Ultimately Super Micro has to run their own company,” he said in response to
Nvidia Corp yesterday announced that CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) would attend an employee meeting in Taipei tomorrow to celebrate the launch of the company’s Taiwan headquarters project. Huang would attend a gathering at the site of Nvidia’s planned headquarters in Beitou Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區), the company said in a statement. After arriving in Taiwan on Saturday last week, Huang told reporters that he plans to meet with Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), and would attend the groundbreaking ceremony for Nvidia’s Taiwan headquarters tomorrow. Nvidia has not yet applied
RSS