A consortium of Taiwanese companies is proposing to build a petrochemicals complex in China's Fujian province with state-owned Sinopec, Taiwan's Commercial Times newspaper reported Friday.
The report said six Taiwanese companies, including USI Corp. and Ho Tung Chemical Corp., have formally applied to the Investment Commission at Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs for the project, which is expected to require a total investment of $15 billion, although the initial outlay is estimated to be Yuan 9.6 billion ($1.6 billion).
Sinopec is expected to own a 50% stake in the project while the Taiwanese companies will own the remainder, according to the report.
The facility, to be located in Gulei in southern Fujian province, will be able to produce 1.2 million mt/year of ethylene and 700,000 mt/year of propylene.
A representative of Ho Tung Chemical on Friday said the company was part of a consortium that had submitted the proposal for the Gulei project to the Investment Commission, which approves both foreign and outbound investments in Taiwan.
"It is meant to be a joint investment with the Chinese side. Once we hear back from the commission, more details will be announced," the representative said.
