CPDC: War Drives CPL Prices Higher; Core Business Recovers from Bottom
CPDC's general manager announced that rising CPL prices driven by geopolitical tensions are expected to lift the company's core operations out of their slump. CPDC is also advancing plans to dispose of the Core Pacific City land.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 17, 2026 at 18:39
- 🔍 Collected: April 17, 2026 at 19:01 (22 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 18, 2026 at 22:12 (27h 10m after Collected)
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Central Message
(Central News Agency Reporter Tseng Jen-kai, Taipei, 17th) China Petrochemical Development Corporation (CPDC) held an institutional investor conference today. General Manager Chen Ying-chun stated that the company's core petrochemical business, including CPL (caprolactam), is seeing prices pushed up by the US-Iran conflict. CPL prices have the opportunity to hit US$2,000 per ton in the second quarter, hitting a recent high, and the core operations are expected to shake off the bottom of 2025.
Chen Ying-chun stated today that CPDC's core business faced three major headwinds in 2025, including expanded petrochemical production capacity in China causing oversupply in the market, and the US implementing reciprocal tariffs in April last year causing market demand to shrink. Coupled with exchange rate fluctuations, CPDC's net loss attributable to the parent company last year was NT$2.966 billion, the worst performance in recent years, with the net operating loss representing the core business reaching NT$3.567 billion.
Chen Ying-chun revealed that as Chinese CPL manufacturers have lowered their utilization rates since the beginning of this year, overall supply has decreased, driving up prices. Additionally, the US-Iran war further pushed up petrochemical prices. In the first quarter of this year, some of CPDC's products have already turned profitable.
Chen Ying-chun is optimistic that the prices of CPDC's main products, such as CPL and AN (acrylonitrile), will continue to rise. Among them, CPL prices in the second quarter have a chance to break the US$2,000 per ton mark, reaching a new high in recent years.
On the raw materials side, CPDC's main upstream raw materials include propylene, benzene, phenol, and liquid ammonia. The prices of these related raw materials also surged along with the Middle East conflict. However, Chen Ying-chun believes that if the US-Iran conflict gradually eases, and if the Strait of Hormuz is unblocked, the raw materials side may show a downward trend, which will help CPDC widen its product spreads.
Chen Ying-chun emphasized that due to the war, both product and raw material prices have been highly volatile recently. CPDC will take "maintaining profit in product pricing" as its highest guiding principle, linking product pricing with costs, hoping to reverse the decline in core business losses.
As for non-operating aspects, CPDC's subsidiary Ding Yue Development was implicated in the Core Pacific City corruption case, and the land of Core Pacific Plaza was seized. Chen Ying-chun stated today that they will continue to develop response plans through legal procedures to protect shareholders' rights and interests.
The board of directors of CPDC and Ding Yue resolved last week to authorize the company chairman or his authorized person to actively communicate and coordinate with relevant external units, based on a 728% floor area ratio, to initiate the Core Pacific Plaza land disposal plan.
Chen Ying-chun stated that they will strictly execute it according to the law and procedures in the future. He emphasized that this is currently the most responsible strategic choice for the company and shareholders, and the funds obtained can replenish working capital and repay loans from financial institutions. (Editor: Chang Liang-chih) 1150417
Central Message
(Central News Agency Reporter Tseng Jen-kai, Taipei, 17th) China Petrochemical Development Corporation (CPDC) held an institutional investor conference today. General Manager Chen Ying-chun stated that the company's core petrochemical business, including CPL (caprolactam), is seeing prices pushed up by the US-Iran conflict. CPL prices have the opportunity to hit US$2,000 per ton in the second quarter, hitting a recent high, and the core operations are expected to shake off the bottom of 2025.
Chen Ying-chun stated today that CPDC's core business faced three major headwinds in 2025, including expanded petrochemical production capacity in China causing oversupply in the market, and the US implementing reciprocal tariffs in April last year causing market demand to shrink. Coupled with exchange rate fluctuations, CPDC's net loss attributable to the parent company last year was NT$2.966 billion, the worst performance in recent years, with the net operating loss representing the core business reaching NT$3.567 billion.
Chen Ying-chun revealed that as Chinese CPL manufacturers have lowered their utilization rates since the beginning of this year, overall supply has decreased, driving up prices. Additionally, the US-Iran war further pushed up petrochemical prices. In the first quarter of this year, some of CPDC's products have already turned profitable.
Chen Ying-chun is optimistic that the prices of CPDC's main products, such as CPL and AN (acrylonitrile), will continue to rise. Among them, CPL prices in the second quarter have a chance to break the US$2,000 per ton mark, reaching a new high in recent years.
On the raw materials side, CPDC's main upstream raw materials include propylene, benzene, phenol, and liquid ammonia. The prices of these related raw materials also surged along with the Middle East conflict. However, Chen Ying-chun believes that if the US-Iran conflict gradually eases, and if the Strait of Hormuz is unblocked, the raw materials side may show a downward trend, which will help CPDC widen its product spreads.
Chen Ying-chun emphasized that due to the war, both product and raw material prices have been highly volatile recently. CPDC will take "maintaining profit in product pricing" as its highest guiding principle, linking product pricing with costs, hoping to reverse the decline in core business losses.
As for non-operating aspects, CPDC's subsidiary Ding Yue Development was implicated in the Core Pacific City corruption case, and the land of Core Pacific Plaza was seized. Chen Ying-chun stated today that they will continue to develop response plans through legal procedures to protect shareholders' rights and interests.
The board of directors of CPDC and Ding Yue resolved last week to authorize the company chairman or his authorized person to actively communicate and coordinate with relevant external units, based on a 728% floor area ratio, to initiate the Core Pacific Plaza land disposal plan.
Chen Ying-chun stated that they will strictly execute it according to the law and procedures in the future. He emphasized that this is currently the most responsible strategic choice for the company and shareholders, and the funds obtained can replenish working capital and repay loans from financial institutions. (Editor: Chang Liang-chih) 1150417