State-run China Shipbuilding Corp's (中船) second attempt to privatize has failed, after the second round of bidding to sell a majority of its shares did not draw the required number of bidders.
The nation's largest shipbuilder received just two bids, while government regulations stipulate that there must be at least three. The bids came from Taiwan Maritime Transport Ltd (TMT, 台灣海陸) and a team led by China Steel Corp (中鋼), Fan Kuang-nan (范光男), president of China Shipbuilding, said in a telephone interview yesterday.
TMT also submitted a bid in the first tender round held last October. The team led by China Steel, Taiwan's largest steelmaker, was composed of Yang Ming Marine Corp (陽明海運), Cheng Lie Navigation Co (正利海運) and Yung Chi Paint and Varnish Mfg Co (永記造漆).
"I think the limited time for submission is the major reason for the share sale's failure," Fan said. "After all, this is a big investment."
The Kaohsiung-based company plans to sell about 66 percent of its shares worth NT$3.8 billion (US$115.48 million) to complete the privatization process.
Like the first tender, China Shipbuilding allowed only one month for investors to bid, which may not be enough for interested groups to get to know the company, Fan said. Its poor track record may also discourage some investors, he said.
It was losing money until 2001, when it carried out a restructuring plan, including laying off about half of its 5,200 workers and reducing salaries by 35 percent.
The company is currently in discussions with the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Enterprise Commission to push through a third share sale before the end of the year, Fan said.
The third tender would not need to have three bidders and whoever submitted the highest tender could win, Fan said.
For the first eight months of the year, China Shipbuilding posted pre-tax earnings of NT$64 million on sales of NT$13.65 billion, compared to pre-tax earnings of NT$41.59 million on sales of NT$10.29 billion a year ago.
The amount has exceeded the target of NT$33 million in earnings set by the government, Fan said. China Shipbuilding expects to earn over NT$95 million this year, Fan said.
China Shipbuilding's current orders will keep it busy until the second quarter of 2010, with the latest order of six 6,300 TEU container ships and six 4,200 TEU container ships from a German company in June, which is expected to bring in nearly NT$30 billion for the ship builder.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) last week recorded an increase in the number of shareholders to the highest in almost eight months, despite its share price falling 3.38 percent from the previous week, Taiwan Stock Exchange data released on Saturday showed. As of Friday, TSMC had 1.88 million shareholders, the most since the week of April 25 and an increase of 31,870 from the previous week, the data showed. The number of shareholders jumped despite a drop of NT$50 (US$1.59), or 3.38 percent, in TSMC’s share price from a week earlier to NT$1,430, as investors took profits from their earlier gains
In a high-security Shenzhen laboratory, Chinese scientists have built what Washington has spent years trying to prevent: a prototype of a machine capable of producing the cutting-edge semiconductor chips that power artificial intelligence (AI), smartphones and weapons central to Western military dominance, Reuters has learned. Completed early this year and undergoing testing, the prototype fills nearly an entire factory floor. It was built by a team of former engineers from Dutch semiconductor giant ASML who reverse-engineered the company’s extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines, according to two people with knowledge of the project. EUV machines sit at the heart of a technological Cold
TAIWAN VALUE CHAIN: Foxtron is to fully own Luxgen following the transaction and it plans to launch a new electric model, the Foxtron Bria, in Taiwan next year Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車) yesterday said that its board of directors approved the disposal of its electric vehicle (EV) unit, Luxgen Motor Co (納智捷汽車), to Foxtron Vehicle Technologies Co (鴻華先進) for NT$787.6 million (US$24.98 million). Foxtron, a half-half joint venture between Yulon affiliate Hua-Chuang Automobile Information Technical Center Co (華創車電) and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), expects to wrap up the deal in the first quarter of next year. Foxtron would fully own Luxgen following the transaction, including five car distributing companies, outlets and all employees. The deal is subject to the approval of the Fair Trade Commission, Foxtron said. “Foxtron will be
INFLATION CONSIDERATION: The BOJ governor said that it would ‘keep making appropriate decisions’ and would adjust depending on the economy and prices The Bank of Japan (BOJ) yesterday raised its benchmark interest rate to the highest in 30 years and said more increases are in the pipeline if conditions allow, in a sign of growing conviction that it can attain the stable inflation target it has pursued for more than a decade. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda’s policy board increased the rate by 0.2 percentage points to 0.75 percent, in a unanimous decision, the bank said in a statement. The central bank cited the rising likelihood of its economic outlook being realized. The rate change was expected by all 50 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The
RSS