Far Eastern looks west for growth
Taiwanese conglomerate Far Eastern Group is eyeing the development of petrochemical plants in the United States, fuelled by cheap energy as the US exploits its shale gas reserves, company's chairman and chief executive Douglas Tong Hsu says.
Taiwanese conglomerate Far Eastern Group is eyeing the development of petrochemical plants in the United States, fuelled by cheap energy as the US exploits its shale gas reserves, company's chairman and chief executive says.
Douglas Tong Hsu told the : "We are now looking at investing in the US" on the back of the growth of shale gas energy projects.
The plants would potentially cost hundreds of millions of US dollars to build, but Hsu said shale gas will "potentially be one of the cheapest sources of energy. It changes a lot".
He said the US plants, if they go ahead, would produce paraxylene (PX) and purified terephthalic acid (PTA). PX is the main feedstock for PTA, which is used to make polyester products including fibre, food and beverage containers and textiles.
Far Eastern's interests include petrochemicals, shipping, textiles, construction and retail. It operates similar plants in Taiwan and on the mainland through subsidiaries Oriental Petrochemical (Taiwan) and Oriental Petrochemical (Shanghai).
Three years ago, the firm announced plans to spend NT$20 billion (HK$5.2 billion) to double the capacity of its PTA plants in Taoyuan, in northern Taiwan, and in Shanghai, which would make it the second-biggest PTA manufacturer in Asia.
Hsu said the firm had been invited to look at sites in the US, including in North Carolina. He said project teams had been put together to investigate sites whenever "something serious" was proposed.
