China to Curb Overcapacity of Plate Glass     

On December 3rd, 2009 the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued a notice calling to curb the overcapacity and unduly construction of the plate glass as to lead healthy development of the industry.
   The notice points out that the most prominent problem faced by the current plate glass industry of China is undue construction and severe overcapacity. At present, there are more than 30 production lines that are under construction or on the schedule, with a total capacity of 120 million standard boxes every year.
   The second problem is the irrational product portfolio. The common float plate glass is in very serious oversupply, but high-grade glass products used for the production of flat panel display and for photovoltaic power generation still need to be imported to satisfy the increasing demand. In China, the deep processing rate of glass products is less than 30%, significantly lower than the world average level of 55%.
   The third major problem is that this industry has a low degree of industrial concentration. The total capacity of the five largest glass producers in China only accounts for about 30% of the national total.   
   MIIT requires that relevant local governments should work out a timetable as soon as possible to completely eliminate the capacity of horizontal sheet process plate glass during 2010 - 2012. It encourages the large-scale glass enterprises to merge and acquire and supports the upgrading of glass-manufacturing technology.
   MIIT also encourages the production of high value-added deep-processed glass products, such as flat panel display glass, photovoltaic solar glass and low-radiation coated glass, the demand of which still need to be satisfied by imports in China.