Asia Pacific Telecom Co (亞太電信) posted its first quarterly profit since its founding six years ago after attracting more subscribers with lower tariffs amid the economic slowdown.
The telecom operator made a net profit of NT$401 million (US$12.19 million) in the April-to-June quarter, after deducting the first-quarter figure from its reported first-half earnings of NT$331 million.
The company also made a profit of NT$126 million last month, it said in a statement.
That was further evidence that Asia Pacific Telecom could be on track to attaining its goal of making a total of NT$720 million for the full year, as it slowly emerges from a web of financial scandals involving its former chairwoman, Wang Chin She-ying (王金世英), who fled the country after allegations of embezzlement in 2007.
More than 2.1 million people have signed up with Asia Pacific Telecom, the company said.
The company declined to comment, however, on speculation that it was in talks with Deutsche Bank, which was said to be interested in purchasing a stake in exchange for the NT$4.6 billion debt that Asia Pacific owed the bank.
Asia Pacific Telecom spokesperson Esther Chang (張瓊文) said that the company’s directors did not touch on the issue of introducing new investors by issuing more shares during a board meeting yesterday.
The company has NT$3.28 billion in share capital.
Asia Pacific Telecom’s biggest shareholder is the Taiwan Railway Administration, which holds 12 percent.
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