LAWYER’S ALLEGATIONS:Yeh Kuang-chou said Tencent Holdings holds a 39.7% share in Shopee’s parent company, so both should be considered Chinese-invested firms

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 17, 2017
By: Lauly Li  /  Staff reporter

The Investment Commission yesterday said it would open an administrative investigation into the source of funding of Singapore-based Shopee Taiwan Co Ltd (樂購蝦皮), one of the nation’s largest e-commerce operators, and whether Chinese capital is involved.

Investment Commission Executive Secretary Emile Chang’s (張銘斌) announcement of a probe followed a morning news release from Taiwanese attorney Yeh Kuang-chou (葉光洲), who said he had reported to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office regarding Shopee Taiwan’s alleged violations of regulations governing Chinese investments and forgery.

Shopee Taiwan claimed to be a subsidiary of Singapore-based Sea Ltd and was registered in Taiwan as a Singaporean company with paid-in capital of NT$5 million (US$165,793.50), Yeh said.

However, Shopee Taiwan should be registered as a Chinese firm and be reviewed by the commission because Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊), a Chinese company, holds a 39.7 percent stake in Sea, Yeh said, citing Sea’s initial public offering (IPO) prospectus released last month.    [FULL  STORY]