CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) yesterday outlined provisions to compensate people affected by its substandard 95-octane unleaded gasoline containing unstable fuel additives.
The state-run refiner said motorists who had purchased the problematic fuel from gasoline stations operated by CPC or its franchisees from Oct. 1 to Saturday would be eligible for a full refund, adding that it would provide vouchers equivalent to the refund amount.
CPC chairman Tai Chein (戴謙) told lawmakers during a question-and-answer session at the Legislative Yuan’s Economics Committee that the compensation period would be extended by six months.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The measure is expected to cost CPC more than NT$400 million (US$12.94 million), CPC said, citing estimates based on the 13,000 kiloliter of substandard gasoline that must be dealt with and at the latest fuel price of NT$31.5 per liter.
However, the incident’s total financial impact could be higher, as affected motorists are also eligible for reimbursements if the problematic gasoline had damaged their fuel tank sensors, although CPC said the problematic gasoline would not harm vehicle engines.
The refiner on Sunday said it would suspend sales of 95-octane unleaded gasoline at some of its stations in northern Taiwan, after gasoline supplied by its refinery in Taoyuan’s Gueishan District (龜山) failed to pass quality tests.
CPC found the substandard fuel stemmed from problems with fuel additives produced at the No. 2 catalytic reforming unit in the refinery.
As of 7pm yesterday, among the 102 affected gasoline stations in northern Taiwan, 55 had their fuel tanks filled with problem-free gasoline, while 47 were still awaiting remedy, CPC said.
Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Tseng Wen-sheng (曾文生) has asked the refiner to submit a report on the incident before the end of this week.
Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) said that penalties resulting from the incident should aim at tightening lax protocols.
CAUTIOUS RECOVERY: While the manufacturing sector returned to growth amid the US-China trade truce, firms remain wary as uncertainty clouds the outlook, the CIER said The local manufacturing sector returned to expansion last month, as the official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose 2.1 points to 51.0, driven by a temporary easing in US-China trade tensions, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The PMI gauges the health of the manufacturing industry, with readings above 50 indicating expansion and those below 50 signaling contraction. “Firms are not as pessimistic as they were in April, but they remain far from optimistic,” CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said at a news conference. The full impact of US tariff decisions is unlikely to become clear until later this month
Popular vape brands such as Geek Bar might get more expensive in the US — if you can find them at all. Shipments of vapes from China to the US ground to a near halt last month from a year ago, official data showed, hit by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and a crackdown on unauthorized e-cigarettes in the world’s biggest market for smoking alternatives. That includes Geek Bar, a brand of flavored vapes that is not authorized to sell in the US, but which had been widely available due to porous import controls. One retailer, who asked not to be named, because
CHIP DUTIES: TSMC said it voiced its concerns to Washington about tariffs, telling the US commerce department that it wants ‘fair treatment’ to protect its competitiveness Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reiterated robust business prospects for this year as strong artificial intelligence (AI) chip demand from Nvidia Corp and other customers would absorb the impacts of US tariffs. “The impact of tariffs would be indirect, as the custom tax is the importers’ responsibility, not the exporters,” TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said at the chipmaker’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Hsinchu City. TSMC’s business could be affected if people become reluctant to buy electronics due to inflated prices, Wei said. In addition, the chipmaker has voiced its concern to the US Department of Commerce
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
RSS