Jollibee buys 70% of Lao Dong
Philippine fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp said yesterday it had acquired 70 percent of Taiwanese restaurant chain Lao Dong (老董) for 61.1 million pesos (US$1.37 million).
In a disclosure to the stock exchange, the publicly listed Jollibee said that as part of the sale, it would invest an additional 30.6 million pesos, while Lao Dong’s owners would put 13.1 million pesos into the new joint venture.
The new venture will work to expand Lao Dong’s restaurant chain in Taiwan and China.
The owners of Lao Dong will help Jollibee develop food products and other services for its business units in China, the Philippines and other countries.
Jollibee is the biggest restaurant chain in the Philippines, operating almost 1,500 outlets for its signature Jollibee hamburgers along with pizzas, baked goods, French pastries and other dishes.
Lao Dong, a full-service restaurant specializing in noodles, has eight outlets in Taipei, it said.
Industries need brand-building
Taiwan’s cultural and creative industries need to work on their brand-building to survive, as original equipment manufacturing (OEM) and original design manufacturing (ODM) are not options for the sectors, Acer Group founder Stan Shih (施振榮) said at a forum yesterday.
The retired Acer chairman said many industries in Taiwan still followed a business model of manufacturing parts for brand-name companies instead of designing their own products.
“In the cultural and creative industries, there is no room for the OEM and ODM,” Shih said, indicating that local businesses focused on handicrafts, publishing, design, fashion design and the performing arts have few options but to create their own brands.
To encourage private investment in local arts and cultural businesses, by sponsoring cultural activities, Shih said private companies could actually save on marketing costs, as sponsoring performances or exhibitions has a strong advertising impact.
CAL chooses new president
China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) announced last night that its board has agreed to appoint Sun Huang-hsiang (孫洪祥) as the carrier’s president, replacing Ringo Chao (趙國帥).
Chao will serve as CAL chairman, it said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Sun is currently chairman of Yangtze River Express Airlines Co (揚子江快運), which is 25 percent owned by CAL.
Prior to his work at the Yangtze River Express, Sun served as president of Formosa Airlines (國華航空) and TransAsia Airways (復興航空), vice president of Mandarin Airlines (華信航空), as well as general manager of CAL’s Europe and San Francisco branches, and vice president of the carrier’s Passenger Sales and Corporate Planning divisions.
Yeh to leave PChome eBay
Simon Yeh (葉奇鑫), chief operating officer (COO) of PChome eBay Co (露天市集), will leave the company at the end of this month because of personal career planning, the company said on Thursday.
Vincent Hsieh (謝振豐), COO of PChome Online Inc (網路家庭), one of the nation’s leading Internet portals, will become an acting COO beginning on July 1, it said.
Hsieh’s appointment will be subject to the approval of the company’s board, which is scheduled to meet next month, it said.
PChome eBay is the nation’s second-largest online auction portal. It is a joint venture formed by PChome Online and eBay Inc.
NT dollar drops slightly
The NT dollar dropped against the US dollar yesterday, declining NT$0.002 to close at NT$30.382 on the Taipei Forex Inc. Turnover was US$967 million.
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