 2012-09-27 |
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Reporter: Zhang Hui-Wen / Taipei Report
In recent years, YC Group has been expanding its industry chain into the upstream sector and broadening its business scope. In 2011, YC officially entered the upstream plastics sector by investing in ACHEM (Jiangsu), which will produce 80,000 tons of acrylic acid, 80,000 tons of butyl acrylate, and 20,000 tons of maleic anhydride. Yesterday, ACHEM successfully secured a $100 million syndicated loan. YC Chairman Li Chih-Hsien also indicated that starting next year, YC will become the global leader in market share for OPP and PVC. YC’s stock closed slightly down by NT$0.15 at NT$23.30 yesterday.
In recent years, YC Group has been driving several major investment projects in Taiwan and China. Among them, ACHEM is the group's largest single investment project since its establishment. The project is planned to be carried out in two phases. The first phase of construction began in July 2012 and is expected to be completed and operational by the fourth quarter of 2013. The products produced by ACHEM, including acrylic acid and esters, will be used internally within the YC Group and also sold to other manufacturers, with plans to gradually expand into overseas markets. According to estimates, this capacity could contribute approximately NT$5 billion in annual revenue based on current market prices.
Li Chih-Hsien pointed out that YC Group is a global leader in professional adhesive tapes, with the largest global market share for OPP tapes at about 10% and for PVC tapes at about 12%. If the expansion project for PVC tapes in Dongguan, Hengli Town proceeds as planned, YC is expected to become the global leader in both OPP and PVC tapes starting next year.
Additionally, the YC board has approved a fundraising plan of NT$1 billion, including convertible bonds and cash capital increase, to secure operating capital and improve its financial structure. This plan is expected to inject growth momentum into its aggressive expansion projects. Besides overseas investments, the Yangmei plant in Taiwan is also expanding, with plans to start producing PE protective tapes and hot-melt adhesive packaging tapes by early next year, aiming to penetrate the European and American markets. |
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