Taiwan, local firms reach $300m deal
Taiwan, local firms reach $300m deal
TAIPEI (Reuter): Taiwan's state-run Chinese Petroleum Corp CHIP.CN (CPC) said yesterday it will sign a contract on Dec. 17 with unnamed Indonesian counterparts to invest US$300 million in a petrochemical zone in that country.
Part of the project will involve moving CPC's currently closed No. 2 naphtha cracker to Indonesia from the southern city of Kaohsiung, CPC spokeswoman Ho Li-chun said by telephone.
"We will sign the contract with our Indonesian counterparts in the December meeting in Taipei," Ho said without elaborating.
CPC had earlier said it also planned to sign agreements on two joint venture projects with Indonesian firms worth a combined US$74.32 million at the Dec. 17 meeting.
CPC and Indonesian state-owned firms -- PTGC and Pertamina -- will jointly invest in a US$24.32 million plant to produce asphalt and a US$50 million plant to produce lubricants.
Ho said CPC is seeking other Taiwanese and Indonesian firms to partner in the petrochemical project which will manufacture midstream and downstream petrochemical raw materials.
"It's only a hope, and we haven't finalized any agreements yet," he said. Ho, who declined to name CPC's potential partners, said substantial talks on cooperation will begin after the contract is signed.
Union Petrochemical Corp (UPC) said it is among the firms which are considering to coordinate investments in Indonesia with CPC. "We are thinking of investing to produce plasticizers," a senior UPC official said by telephone. A plasticizer makes plastic more elastic.
"Many petrochemical firms are interested in Indonesia because of its large population and high development potential," he said, adding the company would wait for CPC to sign the contracts before discussing the issue.
"I can say that a lot of firms have shown interest, but I can also say that no one has made any kind of commitment."
The local Economic Daily News newspaper reported that Grand Petrochemical, Taiwan Styrene Monomer and Taiwan Synthetic Rubber are among the other Taiwanese firms that have shown interest in CPC's project.
The firms either declined comment or could not be reached.
CPC's No.2 cracker was shut down in April last year after the firm opened its No. 5 cracker. CPC closed its No. 1 cracker in 1990. The No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 crackers have annual capacities of 230,000, 385,000 and 400,000 tons of ethylene, respectively. CPC has not announced the capacity of its Indonesia cracker.