Taiwanese Kao Hsing Chang moving its pipe line to China

Taiwanese Kao Hsing Chang moving its pipe line to China

Kao Hsing Chang Iron and Steel Corp. (Kao Hsing Chang) reported that they decided to relocate the steel pipe plant which has an annual capacity of 150'000 tons to mainland China in order to avoid the adverse effects of the downward trend of steel pipe market in Taiwan and get advantage of the West East Pipeline (WEP) Project in China as it will require large diameter pipe purchases in huge quantities. Kao Hsing Chang, to invest $20 million for the first stage is planning to allocate $100 million in total for the relocation of pipe line to Jiangsu province and its expansion plan. The company will establish this new plant by a joint venture with the largest state-owned oil company in China named China National Petroleum Corp. and will hold 95% of the shares. Company officials state that the plan can be delayed until the SARS disease is taken under control. It is also reported that production which was initially scheduled to start in August will be launched until end of this year.