The year 2008 would be a guidepost year for the Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC) as a development pillars of fast growth, said Leslie Koo, chairman of Taiwan Cement Group.  
 
At that time, TCC will squeeze into the list of the top-three cement producers in mainland China.
 
TCC will scramble for the position as the largest producer of cement in the southern China region and the mainland’s third-largest producer of cement in 2008. TCC is already the mainland’s third-largest cement producer with an annual output of 16.3Mt, only behind Conch Group of the mainland and Lafarge.
 
As TCC will re-elect board directors this year, Koo has shown his confidence in retaining his post as chairman because, he said, his efforts to reform TCC over the past few years has won high praises from the board directors.  
 
Koo said his company would launch across-the-board investments this year in a bid to achieve the 2008 goal. The company will kick off several major investment projects by the end of this year.  
 
At present, TCC’s investments in the mainland are focused in the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi, which has helped it stand firmly in the southern China cement market. Once the mainland-investment policy is deregulated, TCC will be able to ship cement produced from Hoping Cement Special Zone in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan, to Jiangsu and Fujian provinces of the mainland by way of marine transport.  
 
On Jan. 3, TCC began launching its across-the-board investments in the mainland with the completion of the first-stage construction of its Yingde plant in Guangdong Province. The plant is slated for second-stage construction sometime in March this year. In addition, the company estimated it would launch first-stage construction at its Guigang plant in Guangxi Province sometime in the middle of this year. The company also has plans to make second-phase expansion at two cement-grinding plants, each in Fuzhou of Fujian Province and Liuzhou of Guangxi Province within this year.