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Sampo remains silent about possible Grundig buy

Sampo Corp (聲寶), one of Taiwan's largest makers of consumer electronics, may invest in Grundig AG, Germany's biggest television maker, as it turns to overseas markets because of mounting competition at home.

The debt-ridden German company said earlier this month on its Web site that it's "still holding intensive negotiations with potential investors, and the prospects for success are good." An agreement with a potential partner will be signed before the end of the year, the Grundig Web site said. The Nuremberg-based maker of TVs, stereos and video cameras has been trying to stave off insolvency amid mounting debt, the Financial Times Deutschland reported earlier this month.

Sampo, 7 percent owned by Japan's Sharp Corp, declined to comment on a Chinese-language newspaper report in Taiwan that it will buy Grundig to take advantage of Grundig's name and increase sales in Europe.

"Sampo's main strategy is to find partnerships or strategic alliances in Europe and worldwide,'' Sampo spokesman Michael Chan said. ``Grundig is one company under consideration."

Sampo chief executive officer Ho Heng-chun (何恆春) said earlier this year the company needs to expand overseas because Taiwan has been forced to open its domestic electronics market to overseas rivals after entry in the WTO on Jan. 1.

Sampo has a marketing alliance with Haier Group Co (海爾), China's largest home-appliance maker, under which both companies sell the other's goods in their home countries.

China has become Sampo's priority market, not only in terms of manufacturing but also for market access. Sampo aims to move nearly 80 percent of its manufacturing business to China by the end of 2004. The company has already established production bases in Suzhou, Kunshan, Dongguan and Tianjin.
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