Two Shanghai-based Taiwanese businesses — Christine Foodstuff Co (克莉絲汀食品) and Hong Kong-listed New Focus Auto Tech Holdings Ltd (新焦點汽車) — plan to go public and dual-list respectively on the TAIEX, media reported yesterday.
In support of the government’s bid to woo back China-based Taiwanese businesses, Christine Foodstuff is slated to list on the TAIEX around the time when the Shanghai Expo is held, between March and October next year, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News reported yesterday, citing anonymous market insiders.
Christine Foodstuff will also open new facilities in Taiwan to take advantage of research and development in the bakery industry after its listing plan is completed, the report said.
With an integrated business presence across the Taiwan Strait, the company will then accelerate its expansion in China, the report said.
The bakery company had canceled a plan to list in Hong Kong earlier this year and is considering listing on the Shanghai bourse’s A share market after the Chinese city promised incentives, the report said.
Christine Foodstuff, founded by Taiwanese native Lo Tien-an (羅田安) in Shanghai 17 years ago, boasts 800 directly run chain stores across China and is a sponsor of the Shanghai Expo, the report said.
Its revenues this year are expected to grow 30 percent to 2 billion yuan (US$292.7 million), the paper said.
The company has a goal of running 1,000 stores throughout China by the end of next year, the paper reported.
Meanwhile, New Focus Auto Tech vows to become a leading auto repair service and auto parts supplier on both sides of the Strait after acquiring an 88 percent stake in domestic company Richahaus Co (麗車坊) last year, the paper said.
New Focus has more than 30 service centers in Taiwan and China, with a total of 300 chain stores in the region, the report said.
Eyeing an auto industry boom in China, the company plans to accelerate its expansion on both sides of the Strait, the report said.
Citing a stock trader in Hong Kong, the newspaper said that New Focus would issue Taiwan Depositary Receipts and set up a research and development center in Taiwan to enhance its auto repair services.
New Focus on Friday closed up 3.77 percent at HK$1.10 (US$0.14)
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