Yieh Phui's New Steel Sheets Factory in China's Changshu to Come Online at Year-end

Taiwan-based Yieh Phui Enterprise Co., Ltd., a listed coated steel producer affiliated with E United Group, a leading steel conglomerate on the island, will start up its new factory of steel sheets for automobiles in Changshu, Jiangsu Province, central China, at the end of this year to explore the vast local market for such steels.

Jason Lin, chairman of E United Group, confirmed that the said factory, with annual output of 400,000-500,000 tonnes, will become operational as scheduled, which will enable Yieh Phui, now Taiwan's largest independent coated steel maker, to better tap the local market for automotive steel sheets in Changshu, particularly the high-end segment.

Institutional investors pointed out that the new factory will definitely help drive Yieh Phui's revenue notably after coming online, primarily because car production in Changshu has reached around 700,000 units a year presently, making the city China's biggest automotive manufacturing base in the central region. A couple of China's leading carmakers, including Chery Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Company Ltd. and Qoros Automotive Co., Ltd., are clustered there to build a lucrative market for automotive steel sheets.

On Yieh Phui's prospects, Lin commented that in the face of the ever-changing international steel market, the subsidiary, mostly focused on  the segment for carbon steel, aims to attain steady growth this year.

Coincidentally, Lin revealed that the group's other affiliate, Yieh United Steel Corp., the biggest integrated stainless steel mill in Southeast Asia, will complete construction of its new plant of nickel-based steel alloys in Fujian Province, southeastern China, by the end of this year. The plant, costing NT$12 billion (US$400 million), will secure Yieh United stable supply of nickel-iron alloys after coming online. (SC)