Daicel's board approved a 50-50 joint venture with Formosa Plastics Corporation (FPC) on July 10 to build a chemicals plant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, aimed at supplying the island's fast-growing semiconductor industry. The venture, tentatively named Formosa Daicel Advanced Chemicals Co., Ltd., will make and sell chemical products, with October 2026 pencilled in as the establishment date.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location | Kaohsiung, Taiwan |
| Ownership | 50% Daicel, 50% Formosa Plastics Corporation |
| Total capital | ¥4bn (800 million New Taiwan dollars) |
| Daicel's investment | ¥2bn (400 million New Taiwan dollars) |
| Business | Manufacture and sale of chemical products |
| Board resolution | July 10, 2026 |
| Contract signing | August 2026 (planned) |
| Establishment | October 2026 (planned) |
| Business start | January 2029 (planned) |
Despite the even ownership split, Daicel will consolidate the venture on its own books. The new company's capital of 800 million New Taiwan dollars, about ¥4bn, is large enough relative to Daicel's own capital base to make it a "specified subsidiary" under Japanese disclosure rules, which is why Daicel filed an extraordinary report with the Kanto Local Finance Bureau. Daicel's own stake works out to 400 million New Taiwan dollars, roughly ¥2bn.
The location is the point. Daicel cited "expanding global semiconductor demand" and "active semiconductor investment in Taiwan" as the reasons for the tie-up, saying it wants to combine its own technology, sales network and staff with FPC's to build a base serving chipmakers. FPC, chaired by Wen-Bee Kuo, is a much bigger entity: the Taiwanese plastics, fiber and chemical-feedstock maker was founded in 1954 and carries 63,657 million New Taiwan dollars of capital, with the Chang Gung Medical Foundation holding a 9.44% stake among its major shareholders.
Two things temper the announcement. Daicel's own board has signed off, but FPC's has not: the disclosure says the resolution assumes FPC will complete its own internal approval and that relevant authorities will grant clearance, which could still move the contract-signing date now pencilled in for August 2026. Second, the timeline runs long. Even if the venture is established on schedule in October 2026, the two companies do not expect to start business until January 2029, a gap of more than two years between incorporation and first revenue. Daicel says the effect on its own consolidated results for the fiscal year ending March 2027 will be minor, framing the payoff instead as a medium-to-long-term contribution to earnings and corporate value.