No. 14: Formosa Chemical & Fibre

Current BW Magazine Table of Contents

October 24, 2005 BW Magazine Table of Contents

October 24, 2005 Asia BW 50 Table of Contents

Asia's BW50

2005 Rankings

1	PTT
2	PetroChina
3	Oil and Natural Gas
4	S-Oil
5	Tata Steel
6	POSCO
7	Shinhan Financial Group
8	LG Corp.
9	Samsung Electronics
10	MISC (Malaysia IntÕl. Shipping)
11	Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg.
12	Hon Hai Precision Industry
13	AU Optronics
14	Formosa Chemicals & Fibre
15	Mitsui OSK Lines
16	Reliance Industries
17	CNOOC
18	Tata Motors
19	Hyundai Mobis
20	Komatsu
21	LG Electronics
22	China Petroleum & Chemical
23	Philippine Long Distance Telephone
24	PT BUMI Resources
25	Shell Refining (Federation of Malaya)
26	Sumitomo Metal Industries
27	PT Astra International
28	Thai Petrochemical Industry
29	Kobe Steel
30	Aluminum Corporation of China
31	High Tech Computer
32	Toyota Tsusho
33	Nippon Mining Holdings
34	Formosa Plastics
35	Jilin Chemical Industrial
36	Larsen & Toubro
37	China Steel
38	Esprit Holdings
39	Infosys Technologies
40	LG.Philips LCD
41	China Mobile (Hong Kong)
42	Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical
43	ICICI Bank
44	Siam Cement Group
45	Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical
46	Matsui Securities
47	Yamada-Denki
48	Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha
49	Orix
50	Nippon Steel

Data: Standard & Poor's Compustat

OCTOBER 24, 2005

STORY TOOLS

WEI-SHENG HUANG/
REUTERS

He's Asia's oldest billionaire. At the age of 88, the animated Y.C. Wang, chairman and CEO of Formosa Plastics Group and hands-on boss of Formosa Chemical & Fibre Corp., is still calling the shots at a time when most of his contemporaries have long retired.

Founded by Wang in 1965, the chemicals-and-fiber company concentrated at first on nylon and other textiles. But it has since moved on to the richer game of producing resins, industrial solvents made from xylenes, and other materials such as styrene, used to make rubber. Now, Formosa is one of the biggest petrochemical players in Asia. And its move away from fabrics has paid off handsomely: The outfit boasted revenues of $4.6 billion in 2004, with profits up 133% year-on-year, to $1.3 billion.

So far, Formosa has been able to pass on to customers the increased cost of the oil it uses. Indeed, the Wang family has benefited from the runup in energy prices. That's because it also controls Formosa Petrochem; Nanya Plastics, the island's only privately owned oil refinery; and filling stations through a subsidiary, Formosa Oil.

Given Wang's age, some investors worry about the lack of a clear succession plan. Whoever eventually takes over Formosa will probably continue to shift output to mainland China. But by all accounts, Wang plans to be around for a while longer.

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