Kitchen Waste Pig Feeding Ban Takes Effect: Formosa Partners with Yuting to Enter Biodiesel, with Taishan Behind?

In October last year, a suspected case of swine fever emerged at a pig farm in Wuci, Taichung, prompting Taiwan's Ministry of Agriculture to impose a 'ban on feeding kitchen waste to pigs,' set to take full effect by the end of this year. Anticipating this shift, businesses have already sensed new opportunities. Formosa Group recently announced a collaboration with Yuting, operator of chain restaurant brands such as 'Hai Xia Hui,' to promote a smart kitchen waste processing device called the 'Shiguang Machine.' The initiative aims to ferment kitchen waste to extract biodiesel and other products, helping to address Taiwan's energy shortages. Behind this partnership, the presence of chain restaurants linked to Taishan Group—including Burger King and Xiangxiang Curry—can also be seen.

Sun Zhengqiang, head of Yuting, hails from the Taishan Group and has been aggressively expanding in Taiwan's capital markets in recent years. After securing control of Dongdian Optoelectronics, he acquired Litemax Technology, a subsidiary of Lite-On, last year. Recently, Huan Sheng International—a lithium-iron battery module manufacturer with Sun listed as its responsible person—is set to officially list on the GreTai market. Huan Sheng International's partner is Formosa New Intelligence, a subsidiary of the Formosa Group. The two companies have already been collaborating for two years on battery applications for low-carbon garbage trucks.