Kaohsiung, Taiwan-headquartered CPC Corp., Taiwan state-owned petroleum company, announced that its lubricant blending plant in Vietnam’s Dong Nai Province, near Ho Chi Minh City, will start production by the end of next year.

The lube blending plant, which will have an annual capacity of 32,000 kiloliters of lubricants, and solvents, includes 15 storage tanks for base oils and additives to make finished lubricants.
 
In January 2015, CPC signed a joint-venture agreement with Excel Chemical Corporation and Unishine Chemical Corp. setting up the enterprise Maxihub Company Limited. CPC, Excel Chemical and Unishine Chemical will invest a total of NTD 1.75 billion (US$60 million) in the Maxihub joint-venture. Excel Chemical and Unishine Chemical will each hold a 30% share, with CPC taking the remaining 40%. The plant will be operated by MAXIHUB.

Maxihub will produce own-brand lubricants for the Vietnam market and also manufacture under contract both the “Kuo-Kuang” and “Mirage” brand lubricants for CPC.

According to CPC’s introduction on its website, “expanding Vietnam and ASEAN markets with MAXIHUB Company Limited” is part of the development strategy of CPC’s Lubricants Business Division, which was founded in March 1999.

The state-owned company said the project was undertaken in accordance with the Taiwanese government’s New Southbound Policy to explore opportunities in Southeast Asian markets.