According to Bloomberg reported that Formosa Plastics Group is seeking permission from the U.S. state of Louisiana to invest USD 9.4 billion to build petrochemical plants. The Taiwanese chemicals producer is waiting for the U.S. state’s authorization for construction of the facilities in St. James. The group also plans another USD 5 billion investment to expand production lines in Texas. Formosa joins other Asian companies in boosting investments in the U.S. amid President Donald Trump’s pledges to create American jobs. U.S. shale gas offers a cheaper alternative source of raw materials for petrochemicals production, making such U.S.-based projects potentially more profitable amid rising prices of oil. Ethane prices will remain relatively low. Because of the lower cost, you have a situation where the U.S. ethane based production will be able to deliver polymer products into places like China cheaper than they can be made from naphtha in China and the surrounding countries like Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Singapore. The Louisiana project, in which group members FPCC(6505TT) and FCFC (1326TT) will invest, includes an ethane cracker with annual capacity of 1.2 mta ethylene and a 600 kta propylene plant in phase one. In the second phase, it will build another ethylene plant with capacity of 1.2 mta. Formosa Plastics Group, which began to invest in the U.S. in 1978, has production facilities there including a polyester plant in South Carolina and an MEG plant in Texas. The expansion in Texas is already underway, which will be completed by 2018. Materials are cheaper in the U.S. and it’s easier to get air permits in U.S. than in Taiwan.