October 07, 2008

Formosa to invest USD 6.1 billion in steel plant in Vietnam

The china Post reported that Taiwan's Formosa Heavy Industries Corp is planning to invest USD 6.1 billion to build a steel mill in Vietnam.

The Commercial Times citing an unnamed source reported that Formosa was expected to secure Vietnamese approval in the first half of 2008, after Mr Wang Wen yuan chairman Formosa Group met with Mr Nguyen Tan Dung prime minister last week.

The paper said the mill's annual capacity will be 7.5 million tonnes while production is expected to begin in 2011.

The project comes after Formosa invested USD 100 million on a stainless steel plant in a joint venture with a Chinese steel maker in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian last year.

Formosa Plastics Corp is flagship of the conglomerate which has interests in plastics, petrochemical, semiconductors and biochemical.