Li Peng May Replace Formosa Chemical as Taiwan's No. 1 Nylon Producer

Taipei, Aug. 14, 2006 (CENS)--Seeing a promising future for nylon products, Li Peng Enterprise Co., Taiwan's leading nylon maker, recently announced that it will set up a large production line with a daily output of 300 metric tons of nylon chips and filament on the island after having received a syndicated loan of NT1.4 billion (US$42.42 million) last month.

Such expansion is expected to be completed in mid-2007, after which the firm's daily production capacity will be raised to 800 metric tons, outpacing its strong rival—Formosa Chemical & Fiber Corp. (FCFC) to become Taiwan's largest producer of nylon chips and filament.

Wang Wen-yuan, FCFC's chairman, noted that they have no intention of expanding its nylon production in Taiwan and, on the contrary, the company is planning to gradually move such production to mainland China. Currently FCFC is Taiwan's largest producer of nylon chips and filament with a daily output of 600 metric tons, and Hualong Corp. is second with a slightly smaller output.

However, the two nylon giants seemed to have lost interest in recent years to expand nylon production on the island. FCFC has turned its focus to other petrochemical products, while Hualong has been snagged by financial woes and hence unable to step up its nylon operation.

Recently the other nylon producers such as Li Peng and Zig Sheng Industrial Co. have been aggressively expanding operations for nylon products and are keen to take over the top spots. With the syndicated loan of NT$1.4 billion (US$42.42 million), Li Peng is planning to add two more production lines to the above-mentioned large one, where each new production line will have a daily output of 100 metric tons.

If all goes according to plan, Li Peng may in the future realize a total daily output of 1,000 metric tons, which will be one of the highest worldwide.