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Tatung plans to invest in new WiMAX business

Local home appliances vendor Tatung Co (大同) said its board has approved a proposal to invest NT$100 million (US$3.03 million) in a telecoms company, with the aim of diversifying into the new WiMAX market.

The company's board yesterday approved the proposal to set up a telecom unit "to operate WiMAX and network businesses," Tatung said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

That will enable Tatung to join a bidding war for a WiMAX license against major domestic telecom players, including the nation's largest telco Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) and the nation's only short-range PHS operator First International Telecom Corp (大眾電信).

Tatung declined to reveal further details.

The nation's telecoms regulator, the National Communications Commission (NCC), plans to auction six WiMAX licenses for regional operation in bidding scheduled for late June or early July, a commission spokesperson said by telephone.

The NCC plans to offer one, or maybe more, nationwide WiMAX licenses in 2009, the official added.

The NCC also plans to raise the threshold of would-be WiMAX operators' initial capital to NT$1 billion, up from the original requirement of NT$500 million, when considering their ability to deploy a WiMAX network.

WiMAX license holders would be required to increase their capital to the new minimum level within three months of the auction, the NCC said.

The detailed rules will be revealed next week.

Tatung predicted sales of liquid-crystal-display (LCD) televisions would soar to 80,000 sets this year, including those made for other brands, chairman Lin Wei-shan (林蔚山) told reporters on Thursday.

This would represent a rise of 60 percent from the 50,000 sets it sold last year, Lin said.

In addition to its core business, Tatung has also invested in a LCD panel maker, Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (中華映管) and Green Energy Technology Inc (綠能科技), a maker of solar silicon wafers.

The company also said it plans to build more residential complexes this year in order to better utilize its currently idle properties in Taipei and capitalize on the nation's robust property market.

Tatung posted NT$3.64 billion in losses, or negative NT$0.88 a share, in the first nine months of last year. The home appliances firm plans to hold a shareholders' meeting on June 15 to approve last year's financial results.

Shares of Tatung rose 0.11 percent to close at NT$13.8 yesterday, underperforming the TAIEX's 0.46 percent gain.
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