Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) vice president Lu Fang-ming (呂芳銘) is expected to take the helm at local telecoms operator Asia Pacific Telecom Co (亞太電信) in a move which would facilitate a telecoms merger, a company executive said yesterday.
Hon Hai’s telecom subsidiary Ambit Microsystems Corp (國碁電子) signed a letter of intent with Asia Pacific in May to buy a 70 percent stake in Asia Pacific Telecom for NT$11.7 billion (US$391 million) aimed at building a better position for the two companies in the nation’s 4G market.
Lu is in charge of the telecommunications section of Hon Hai, which makes a wide range of electronics from iPhones for Apple inc, to servers for HP.
“The [personnel] adjustment aims to facilitate Hon Hai’s participation in the company,” Asia Pacific president Vincent Chih (遲煥國) told reporters, on the sidelines of a press conference unveiling two new 4G smartphones made by BenQ Corp (明基).
Lu will replace Sophia Chiu (邱純枝) as chairperson after the board gives the go-ahead in a meeting scheduled for next week, Chih said.
Chiu tendered her resignation as chairman on Friday last week, but she is set to remain on the board, representing Teco Electric & Machinery Co (東元電機), which has a 0.75 percent share of Asia Pacific Telecom.
The company plans to launch its 4G services in the first quarter of next year following the merger with Ambit, Chih said.
That will make Asia Pacific the latest of the nation’s five 4G operators to offer high-speed telecoms services.
The nation’s largest three telecoms companies — Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大) and Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信) — began providing 4G services late last month, while Taiwan Star Cellular Corp (台灣之星) is scheduled to offer its 4G services later this quarter.
“The timetable for the launch is conservative, as we are evaluating how to integrate our 4G base stations with Ambit’s, and we have to think about how to build our 4G network more cost-effectively,” Chih said.
Asia Pacific Telecom bought core telecoms equipment from Alcatel-Lucent, while Ambit switched to Nokia Networks after the National Communications Commission blocked its use of telecoms equipment from China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為).
By the first quarter of next year, Asia Pacific Telecom is set to deploy more than 3,000 4G base stations, he said.
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