Indorama eyes Trump tax boost

bangkok — Billionaire Aloke Lohia sees the possibility of a major boost for his petrochemical company Indorama Ventures, courtesy of President Donald Trump’s tax agenda.

The Bangkok-based maker of plastics used in items such as Coca-Cola Co bottles generates about 40 per cent of revenue from its North American factories. Trump’s push to cut corporate taxes and curb imports could be a boon for Indorama’s US earnings, according to Lohia. “Economically, what he’s saying will help our businesses in the US,” Lohia, 58, said in an interview in Bangkok.

“I can’t complain economically if he reduces corporate tax. We produce regionally. We don’t really export from Asia to the US. We get a benefit if protectionist measures are put in place.”

Indorama Ventures joins the long list of businesses trying to gauge the impact of Trump’s incipient overhaul of taxation and trade policies. Republican lawmakers in the US have proposed a 20 per cent border-adjusted levy on companies’ domestic sales and imports.

The measure would replace the current 35 per cent corporate tax rate and exempt exports. The plan faces opposition from businesses who say they’d have to pass higher import costs on to consumers.

Indian passport-holder Lohia set up his company in 1994 in Thailand, where he has permanent residency. It now operates factories globally, under a strategy of localised manufacturing to serve regional markets.

Products range from plastics to worsted wool yarns. In the US, Lohia said his plants compete with imports from Taiwan, China, India and Indonesia. Curbing them would enable American factories to reduce idle capacity, he said. — Bloomberg