Formosa to up investment in Vietnam

Formosa to up investment in Vietnam

HANOI: Taiwanese petrochemical giant Formosa Plastics Group said on Thursday it will invest an additional US$212 million in Vietnam to expand its operations in the country.

Chen Kun Tai, deputy general director of Hung Nghiep Formosa, the group's 100 percent Taiwanese-owned operating company in Vietnam, said the Ministry of Planning and Investment had handed over the expansion license on Tuesday.

The capital will be channeled into constructing new chemical and plastic manufacturing facilities on the Nhon Trach 3 industrial park in Dong Nai province, near the southern business capital of Ho Chi Minh City.

Once realised, this new investment hike will take Formosa's total pledged investment in Vietnam to $482.3 million, he said.

Formosa decided last year to expand its operations in Vietnam in accord with Taipei's push to encourage investment in Southeast Asian countries and stay away from mainland China.

The company was awarded its first investment license in Vietnam, worth $245 million, in December 2001 to develop the Nhon Trach 3 industrial park.

The project development aimed to build textile, polyester, spinning, yarn and fiber facilities, as well as a water plant and a power plant.

In February 2002, the group was given permission to increase its total investment to $270.3 million.

Taiwan is the second largest investor in the communist nation after Singapore, with pledged capital of around $5.49 billion .--AFP