The Investment Commission yesterday said it will suspend its review of Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia IV’s (MSPE) planned acquisition of local cable TV operator China Network Systems Co (CNS, 中嘉網路) until the National Communications Commission (NCC) re-examines the case.
MSPE’s acquisition bid was approved by the Fair Trade Commission and the NCC in December last year and January respectively, leaving the Investment Commission’s approval as the final step to complete the deal.
Last year, MSPE proposed to purchase a significant stake in CNS for NT$74.5 billion (US$2.38 billion) through a holding company called North Haven Private Equity Asia IV LP.
Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信), the nation’s No. 3 telecom, inked an agreement with MSPE to subscribe to NT$17.12 billion of non-convertible corporate bonds issued by MPSE’s local subsidiary, which is seen as an expansion of the company’s digital convergence.
According to the proposal’s funding structure, about 70 percent of capital would come from bank loans, which would make Far EasTone the largest investor in the deal.
“Commission members have concerns that Far EasTone might indirectly take substantial control of CNS if the acquisition is approved, considering the funding structure of the deal,” Investment Commission Executive Secretary Emile Chang (張銘斌) told a news conference yesterday.
Far EasTone had allegedly attempted to evade the restrictions imposed by the Cable Radio and Television Act (有線廣播電視法), the Investment Commission said in a statement.
The telecom, whose shareholders include the government’s investment funds, is banned from holding shares in CNS due to regulations prohibiting investments in media outlets by the government, political parties and the military.
“The details of the planned investment could not convince commission members to approve the case,” Chang said, adding that the NCC should review the case to dispel the doubts surrounding the deal.
The NCC yesterday said it would re-examine the case in accordance with the law, adding that it will take into account the conclusion reached at the Investment Commission and the evidence it has gathered for the case.
“The case is a major event for the development of the nation’s cable television system, and the proposed investment would have major impacts on the diversity of public opinion, market order and the development of the media industry,” the Investment Commission said.
NCC spokesperson Wong Po-tsong (翁柏宗) said that the NCC gave its conditional approval in January for North Haven’s acquisition of CNS.
However, it has been collecting evidence and information related to the transaction, as both the public and NCC members are concerned about the case.
Far EasTone said it was shocked by the Investment Commission’s rejection of the proposal.
“The deal has been under the scrutiny of the NCC for the past year. We do not understand why the Investment Commission rejected the deal and handed it back to the NCC,” Far EasTone said in a statement released yesterday.
The company said the Investment Commission must have mistakenly thought that the company would control CNS by holding MSPEA corporate bonds.
Far EasTone is not allowed to convert those bonds into MSPEA shares according to their agreement, the company said.
That makes Far EasTone a bond holder of MSPEA, it added.
Additional reporting by Shelly Shan and Lisa Wang
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”