Struggling Japanese consumer electronics firm Laox Co is in talks to sell a stake of around 30 percent to Chinese retail chain owner Suning Appliances (蘇寧電器), a report said yesterday.
The deal would make Laox the first big Japanese retailer to become a Chinese company’s affiliate, the Nikkei Shimbun economic daily said.
Under the plan, Laox would issue roughly ¥1.5 billion (US$15 million) in shares, representing a more than 50 percent stake, to a Japanese firm acting as a go-between, the daily said without citing sources.
Suning would then take 30 percent from the go-between to become Laox’s principal shareholder with board representation, it said, adding that an announcement would be made as early as next week.
Suning, China’s second-largest home appliance chain, is hoping to learn business practices, such as pricing policies and customer service, from working in the Japanese consumer electronics retail market, the report said.
Laox would likely use the funds raised from the share issuance to revitalize stores, it said.
The Japanese company said it is negotiating with several companies for new share issuance but declined to elaborate further.
Suning yesterday commented on the report in a statement filed with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
“Laox recently proposed cooperation with the Company [Suning], and the Company has been in touch with Laox on the issues of industry development and bilateral cooperation,” Suning said. “However, the Company has not signed any binding legal document with Laox.”
“If there is any further development concerning cooperation with Laox, the Company will go through all the approval procedures and release information as required by the rules in a timely and accurate manner,” it said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique