How to Make Billions After the Gas Runs Out: 1970s Oil Crises and the Material Foundations of Taiwan's Chip Industry

Taiwan's fledgling plastic industry faced immense cost pressures and mounting losses, after crude oil prices skyrocketed following the Oil Crises of 1973 and 1979 and multi-national petrochemical companies withdrew in the 1980s. Plastic manufacturers such as Formosa Plastics, Chang Chun, Chi Mei, and the Far Eastern Group not only weathered the crisis, but emerged as suppliers of vital raw materials for semi-conductor and electronics manufacturers. These corporations gained a higher market share in hi-performance thermoplastics by leveraging state-sponsored and private research and development.