Formosa Plastics Group (FPG, 台塑集團) yesterday voiced concerns about looming uncertainties, including an escalating US-China trade war, which could dim prospects during the high season in the fourth quarter.
While the conglomerate’s four major units would be entering the fourth quarter with higher capacity utilization as of the end of last month following the conclusion of annual maintenance checks, confidence among its customers has been rocked by the trade war, executives said at the group’s monthly news conference in Taipei.
The four units reported that combined sales last month rose 7.4 percent sequentially and 21.9 percent annually to NT$155.73 billion (US$5.06 billion), while aggregate sales in the first eight months gained 19.6 percent year-on-year to NT$1.16 trillion.
Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化), the group’s oil refinery arm, posted the fastest growth in sales last month, which rose 30.8 percent annually to NT$69.87 billion.
Sales growth in the final quarter would depend on crude oil prices and inventory levels, which would be influenced by the outcome of the US-China trade war, Formosa Petrochemical president Tsao Minh (曹明) said.
In second place was Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp (台灣化學纖維), which said sales last month rose 23.9 percent annually to NT$36.4 billion.
Formosa Chemicals & Fibre president Hong Fu-yuan (洪福源) said the company is concerned about demand growth in China as the nation’s economic growth tapers.
It has yet to see a surge in orders from Chinese customers who typically ramp up inventory in preparation for the Nov. 11 “Singles Day” shopping event, he said.
Still, despite this year’s lukewarm peak season showing, inelastic demand for the company’s products has remained stable, Hong said.
Nan Ya Plastics Corp (南亞塑膠) reported that sales last month gained 14.1 percent annually to NT$29.66 billion, but chairman Wu Chia-chau (吳嘉昭) gave a muted sales growth forecast for next quarter.
Formosa Plastics Corp (台塑) saw sales last month rise 14.6 percent to NT$19.8 billion, and company chairman Jason Lin (林健男) said the firm has been allocating inventory to Vietnam, Bangladesh and Indonesia to cater to possible adjustments made by its Chinese customers to cope with the trade war.
The company remains hesitant about investing in production facilities in Southeast Asian markets due to growing concerns about foreign exchange volatility, Lin said.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last