The Fair Trade Commission yesterday fined Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大) NT$100,000 for failing to report its acquisition of a 10 percent stake in Taiwan Kuro Times Co (台灣酷樂時代), which runs ezPeer, one of the nation’s leading online music service providers.
Taiwan Mobile, the nation’s No. 2 telecoms operator, gained the commission’s approval in March last year for its application to acquire a 45 percent stake in Taiwan Kuro Times as part of its merger plans. At the time, the telecom company said it proposed to purchase another 10 percent share in Taiwan Kuro Times in two years.
However, Taiwan Mobile has increased its shareholding in Taiwan Kuro Times to 55 percent since then — as detailed in its application to make the online music service operator a wholly-owned entity — without first obtaining regulatory approval for the purchase of the additional 10 percent stake, the commission said in a statement posted on its Web site.
As Taiwan Mobile has secured about a quarter of the mobile communications services market, any deal involving it would have an influence on its competitors and the company is required by law to submit its share purchase plans to the regulator before it proceeds, the commission said.
Since the company failed to do so, the commission said it had decided to mete out an administrative penalty of NT$100,000 against Taiwan Mobile in accordance with Articles 13 and 40 of the Fair Trade Act (公平交易法), the statement said.
The commission also ordered Taiwan Mobile to submit an application to purchase the additional 10 percent stake in Taiwan Kuro Times within three months, according to the statement.
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