The official said a timetable of the construction of the stainless steel plant had not been finalized, and declined to disclose further details.

The Taipei-based Economic Daily News reported Monday the plant will cost the group 100 billion Taiwan dollars (US$3.1 billion).

The newspaper said the planned stainless steel plant is expected to roll out two million metric tons a year.

Earlier this year, the group, whose interests range from petrochemicals to semiconductors, said it planned a stainless steel plant in Fujian province in southeast China with an annual capacity of one million metric tons.