Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp (台灣化學纖維) yesterday expressed optimism about its near-term business outlook as it expands its capacity in China.
The company has no large investment plans in Taiwan, but is working on expansion projects in Ningbo in China’s Zhejiang Province and in the US state of Louisiana, vice chairman Hong Fu-yuan (洪福源) said on the sidelines of the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting.
Formosa Chemicals produces phenols, purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) in Ningbo.
A key member of Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), Formosa Chemicals said it is working to improve the efficiency of its PTA production lines, which would help reduce costs by US$25 per tonne, it said in its annual report.
The company said it also plans to increase its purified isophthalic acid (PIA) production in Ningbo over the coming two years as prices continue to grow because of tight supplies in major markets.
The company has budgeted US$260 million for the construction of a new PIA facility and has already secured a syndicated loan of US$155 million from banks, it said, adding that the facility would have an annual capacity of 200,000 tonnes and is expected to begin trial production in the fourth quarter of next year.
Shareholders yesterday approved the distribution of a cash dividend of NT$7 per common share, the highest since 2011. That represented a payout ratio of 75 percent, as the company’s earnings per share were NT$9.33 last year.
Sales last year increased 12.3 percent year-on-year to NT$358.42 billion, with petrochemical products contributing 62.3 percent of the total sales and plastics products making up 29.5 percent, data showed.
In the first five months of the year, revenue increased 14.76 percent to NT$164.72 billion from NT$143.54 billion in the same period last year.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) secured a record 70.2 percent share of the global foundry business in the second quarter, up from 67.6 percent the previous quarter, and continued widening its lead over second-placed Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said on Monday. TSMC posted US$30.24 billion in sales in the April-to-June period, up 18.5 percent from the previous quarter, driven by major smartphone customers entering their ramp-up cycle and robust demand for artificial intelligence chips, laptops and PCs, which boosted wafer shipments and average selling prices, TrendForce said in a report. Samsung’s sales also grew in the second quarter, up
LIMITED IMPACT: Investor confidence was likely sustained by its relatively small exposure to the Chinese market, as only less advanced chips are made in Nanjing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) saw its stock price close steady yesterday in a sign that the loss of the validated end user (VEU) status for its Nanjing, China, fab should have a mild impact on the world’s biggest contract chipmaker financially and technologically. Media reports about the waiver loss sent TSMC down 1.29 percent during the early trading session yesterday, but the stock soon regained strength and ended at NT$1,160, unchanged from Tuesday. Investors’ confidence in TSMC was likely built on its relatively small exposure to the Chinese market, as Chinese customers contributed about 9 percent to TSMC’s revenue last
LOOPHOLES: The move is to end a break that was aiding foreign producers without any similar benefit for US manufacturers, the US Department of Commerce said US President Donald Trump’s administration would make it harder for Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc to ship critical equipment to their chipmaking operations in China, dealing a potential blow to the companies’ production in the world’s largest semiconductor market. The US Department of Commerce in a notice published on Friday said that it was revoking waivers for Samsung and SK Hynix to use US technologies in their Chinese operations. The companies had been operating in China under regulations that allow them to import chipmaking equipment without applying for a new license each time. The move would revise what is known
UNCERTAINTY: A final ruling against the president’s tariffs would upend his trade deals and force the government to content with billions of dollars in refunds The legal fight over US President Donald Trump’s global tariffs is deepening after a federal appeals court ruled the levies were issued illegally under an emergency law, extending the chaos in global trade. A 7-4 decision by a panel of judges on Friday was a major setback for Trump, even as it gives both sides something to boast about. The majority upheld a May ruling by the Court of International Trade that the tariffs were illegal. However, the judges left the levies intact while the case proceeds, as Trump had requested, and suggested that any injunction could potentially be narrowed to apply
RSS