The company was expected to secure Vietnamese approval in the first half of 2008, after Formosa Group chairman Wang Wen-yuan met with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung last week, the Commercial Times said, citing unnamed sources.

The paper said the mill's annual capacity will be 7.5 million metric tons while production is expected to begin in 2011.

The project comes after Formosa invested US$100 million on a stainless steel plant in a joint venture with a Chinese steel maker in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian last year.

Company officials were not immediately available for comment.

Formosa Plastics Corp. is flagship of the conglomerate which has interests in plastics, petrochemical, semiconductors, and biochemicals.