The government may punish Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) if it proceeds with a proposed investment plan in China without the approval of the authorities, said Steve Chen (陳瑞隆), vice minister of economic affairs, yesterday.
Local media reported yesterday that Hon Hai is planning to invest US$1 billion in a Beijing industrial park via Foxconn Electronics Inc (
On Thursday, Hon Hai Chairman Terry Kuo (郭台銘) and Beijing Mayor Liu Qi (劉淇) signed a letter of intent with the Beijing city government on the company's investment in the park, the reports said.
According to Chen, Taiwanese businesses must receive government approval to invest more than US$20 million in China. If companies don't follow the rule, "they will be dealt the most serious punishment by the ministry," he said.
Under the Article 86 of the Statute Governing Relations Between The People On The Two Sides of The Taiwan Strait (兩岸人民關係條例), Hon Hai may face a fine of between NT$1 million and NT$5 million, Chen said.
"[If necessary], we will punish the company continuously until it drops the deal [with China]," Chen said.
No Hon Hai officials could be reached for comment but the company posted a statement on the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday, saying that no final decision had been made on the project and the company hasn't decided when it will make the investment.
Indeed, Hon Hai spokesman Edmund Ding (
The planned investment "requires further business reviews and Taiwan regulatory approv-al," the report quoted Ding as saying.
Hon Hai, which has invested NT$237.15 million in 24 units in China since 1993, has become the focus of local media during the past few days following reports that the Taiwanese company has allowed Chinese workers to set up a communist cell within the Shenzhen-based Foxconn.
Hon Hai's shares fell NT$3, or 2 percent, to close at NT$151.
RSS