Taiwan News
Date: 2016-10-14
By: Jalen Chung and Frances Huang, Central News Agency

Taipei, Oct. 14 (CNA) Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. , the world’s largest contract electronics maker, has teamed up with Japanese home appliance giant Sharp Corp. and China’s leading e-commerce operator, Alibaba Group , to develop Internet TV, according to Hon Hai Chairman Terry Gou .

Speaking to the press in China Thursday during a cloud-based technology conference held in Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province from Oct. 13 to Oct. 16, Gou said that Hon Hai has applied the YunOS operating system developed by Alibaba to Sharp’s Internet TV production as part of efforts to roll out Internet TV.

Sharp is one of Hon Hai’s subsidiaries after the Taiwanese firm completed an acquisition deal in August to take a 66 percent share, and has become the largest shareholder of the financially struggling Japanese firm.

Alibaba has not only provided the YunOS operating system to Sharp for Internet TV development but will also provide assistance to the Japanese firm in cloud-based technology and TV product sales under the multiple cooperation program, according to reports from China.     [FULL  STORY]

BOOST:Taiwan Optical Platform would see its number of subscribers increase to 500,000 and its market share nearly double if the bid is approved by regulatory bodies

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 15, 2016
By: Lisa Wang / Staff reporter

Taiwan Optical Platform Co (台灣數位光訊) yesterday said it plans to acquire a 65 percent stake in Eastern Broadcasting Co (EBC, 東森電視) for NT$11.12 billion (US$351.1 million) in a bid to expand its presence in the nation’s broadcasting market.

The announcement came less than two weeks after DMG Entertainment dropped its NT$18.9 billion bid to acquire EBC due to drawn-out reviews by local regulators.

“We are a local cable TV system operator. We have been interested in acquiring EBC since Carlyle Group expressed its intention to unload its stakes,” Taiwan Optical Platform chairman Rocky Chien (簡森垣) told a news conference.

The deal will help Taiwan Optical Platform enhance its digital contents and improve its position in the cable TV market, the Taichung-based company said.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: October 15, 2016
By: CNA

TAIPEI–Shares in Taiwan closed below the 9,200- point level Friday as chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) and smartphone camera lens supplier Largan Precision Co. (大立光) failed to respond positively to their third-quarter results, dealers said.

Market sentiment remained cautious toward the ongoing earnings season, though TSMC and Largan reported good earnings data — yet many investors here have become wary of the global economy after China reported a 10-percent fall in exports for September, the dealers said.

The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange ended down 54.00 points, or 0.59 percent, at 9,165.17, after moving between 9,149.87 and 9,216.63, on turnover of NT$67.06 billion (US$2.12 billion). It was the first time the index had closed below 9,200 points since Sept. 30, when the main board ended at 9,166.85 points.

The market opened down 0.23 percent on lackluster performance on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial closed down 0.25 percent and the S&P 500 index ended down 0.31 percent, the dealers said.      [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-10-13
By: Wei Shu and Frances Huang, Central News Agency

Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (台灣高鐵, THSR) has settled on an issue price for its Oct. 27 main board listing of NT$15.13 (US$0.48), underwriter Fubon Security said on Thursday.

The price was determined after the underwriter held an auction for the 16 million common shares to be issued in the listing.

The final issuance price was much higher than the NT$11.50 per share tentatively set in a prospectus filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange on Oct. 3.

The auction ran from Oct. 6 to Oct. 11 and had a floor price of NT$11.64, Fubon Securities said.

THSR, the only high speed railway operator in Taiwan, said in the prospectus that if the issue price was higher than NT$11.50, the company would have higher working capital, a positive sign for future operations.     [FULL  STORY]

NEW RULES:The FSC has proposed tender offer guidelines that say a company with paid-in capital of more than US$157m must compile a corporate social responsibility report

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 14, 2016
By: Ted Chen / Staff reporter, with CNA

Lawmakers yesterday continued to rail against regulators’ lack of oversight in holding a number of companies liable for reparations of massive losses for more than 20,000 investors following the collapse of a tender offer for XPEC Entertainment Inc (樂陞科技).

New Power Party (NPP) Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) targeted missteps by the Financial Supervisory Commission’s (FSC) Securities and Futures Bureau (SFB), and its subsequent conflicting explanations.

The tender offer plan stipulated that Bai Chi Gan Tou Digital Entertainment Co (百尺竿頭) must fulfill its payment obligations by Aug. 19 and complete the transfer of shares by Aug. 26.

However, CTBC Bank Co (中國信託銀行), the depository bank in the deal, announced an extension to the payment due date to Aug. 26.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: October 14, 2016
By: CNA

TAIPEI — Ennoconn Corp., an industrial PC subsidiary of Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., has agreed to acquire a stake in an Austrian information system integration solutions provider.

In the acquisition, Ennoconn will spend about 153 million euros or NT$5.35 billion (US$168 million) to take a 29.4 percent stake in S&T AG, which is currently listed on the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

After the deal is completed, Ennoconn is expected to become S&T’s largest shareholder.

As S&T plans to use the proceeds from the deal with Ennoconn to acquire a 29 percent stake in German-based embedded computing brand Kontron AG, the Taiwanese suitor has said it will be investing in the German firm indirectly.

According to Ennoconn, S&T’s applications can be seen in a wide range of industries, including medical services, telecommunications, big data, production automation, smart electricity grids and energy development.     [SOURCE]

TRILATERAL SYNERGY:The industrial PC maker will also become a major investor of Kontron via S&T, allowing it to offer clients complete solutions

Taiwan Times
Date: Oct 13, 2016
By: Lauly Li / Staff reporter

Industrial PC maker Ennoconn Corp (樺漢科技) yesterday said it plans to acquire a 29.4 percent stake in information technology solution provider S&T AG for 152.83 million euros (US$168.6 million), in an effort to enhance its global competitiveness.

S&T announced at the same time that it would purchase a 29 percent share in Kontron AG — Germany’s leading embedded computer technology provider, Ennoconn said.

“Ennoconn will become the largest shareholder of S&T and the main investor of Kontron through the deal with S&T,” Ennoconn chief financial officer Tsao Hsi-chung (曹錫仲) told a press conference at the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

S&T has strong software integration technologies and more than 1,800 software engineers worldwide, while Kontron is known for its brand management and marketing resources, Tsao said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-10-12
By: Jeffrey Wu and Evelyn Kao. Central News Agency

Taipei, Oct. 12 (CNA) The Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) closed up slightly on Wednesday, despite an overnight fall on Wall Street with buying focused on “Apple concept stocks” and shares in TFT-LCD panel manufacturers, dealers said.

The TWSE weighted index closed up 32.78 points, or 0.36 percent, finishing the day at 9,232.60, after moving between 9,166.58 and 9,258.69, on turnover of NT$64.72 billion (US$2.05 billion).

The market initially fell 18.27 points to 9,201.55 in response to weakness in U.S. markets overnight.

However, buying picked up later in the trading session to push the broader market into the black, focusing on shares in companies that are part of the Apple Inc. supply chain, which has been boosted by the recent launch of the iPhone 7, and stocks in TFT-LCD panel companies. The electronics sub-index closed up 0.57 percent, while the financial sub-index ended the day up 0.85 percent.     [FULL  STORY]