Shares of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) rose 1.98 percent yesterday to finish at the day’s high of NT$72 after chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) increased his stake in the company and encouraged investors to do likewise.
Gou last month bought 1.5 million shares in Hon Hai, increasing his share for the fourth consecutive month, a Taiwan Stock Exchange filing on Friday last week showed.
Based on the stock’s average closing price of NT$72.1 last month, Gou spent about NT$108 million (US$35 million), raising his stake in the firm to 9.6 percent.
Over the past four months, Gou has invested more than NT$2.5 billion in Hon Hai, increasing his share by 2.66 percentage points and boosting his market capitalization to more than NT$94 billion.
The decision by Gou and listed-company executives to increase their company holdings has shown an optimistic business outlook that would boost investor confidence in the stocks, dealers said.
The buying in Hon Hai shares also reflected Gou’s intention to team up with the Kaohsiung City Government to develop smart technology in the city.
Gou on Sunday signed a memorandum of understanding with Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), saying that Hon Hai would help develop the city’s technology industry by recruiting about 3,000 software engineers to work in big data, artificial intelligence and software development at the Kaohsiung Software Park (高雄軟體園區).
So far, only 500 people have been recruited, but Gou said more are welcome.
Hon Hai, an assembler of iPhones, has been integrating its hardware and software capabilities in an effort to grow beyond electronics contract manufacturing.
Shares of the firm had come under pressure recently amid concerns over falling shipments of the iPhones unveiled in September last year. Apple Inc makes up about 40 percent of Hon Hai’s annual sales.
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