Taiwan’s industry, including its petrochemical and plastics sector, is worried about its activities calming down significantly in the near future. The economic downturn in China, caused among others by the country’s restrictive credit policy, is increasingly making itself felt. According to regional media reports, neither representatives of the island-state E&E industry nor the CEO of Taiwan’s largest petrochemical group Formosa Plastics (Taipei; www.fpc.com.tw), Wang Wen-yuang, believe the Chinese economy will revive in 2012.

Wang said money was particularly tight in China’s petrochemical sector, which has given rise to extreme reticence on the part of local buyers. That stance did not change, even as the state recently eased its credit terms a little. “I can’t see any spring swallow coming next year,” Wang is cited. Taiwan’s petrochemical industry is highly dependent on mainland China.