Of the NT$17.5 billion (US$601.23 million) offered by a consortium headed by Chinatrust Charity Foundation chairman Jeffrey Koo Jr (辜仲諒) to buy four media outlets in the Next Media Group (壹傳媒集團), up to NT$9 billion came from Want Want China Times Group (旺旺中時集團) chairman Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), the Chinese-language Wealth Magazine reported in its latest edition yesterday.
If the report is confirmed, it is a surprising development as Next Media Group chairman Jimmy Lai (黎智英) said in an interview with the Apple Daily published on Oct. 18 that he had decided to finalize the sale of the four media outlets after ensuring that none of the funding came from Tsai.
Next Media, in an announcement filed to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Oct. 17, confirmed that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Koo, who has agreed to purchase the Apple Daily, the Sharp Daily, Next Magazine and Next TV.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Koo’s co-investors in the deal include Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團) chairman William Wong (王文淵) and a Singapore-based private equity firm.
Asked for comment on Wealth Magazine’s report, National Communications Commission (NCC) spokesperson Yu Hsiao-cheng (虞孝成) said the commission had not officially received that information and therefore he was unable to comment on the matter.
According to the report, at a recent meeting held between Next Media Group officials and representatives from Koo’s consortium held to finalize the deal, Tsai Eng-meng showed up unexpectedly, startling Next Media Group officials.
The report said Chinatrust, in the hope that the deal could be completed smoothly, had requested that Tsai keep a low profile. However, Tsai was not happy about having to downplay his role, the report said, adding that during the meeting Tsai bellowed: “I’m the one who put up the most money, why can’t I say something?”
When an official reminded Tsai that if his role was revealed, the NCC may rule against him in a review of his purchase of a TV network, the report quoted Tsai as replying: “I don’t want the TV network.”
The Apple Daily declined to comment on the report, with the paper’s executive editor-in-chief Ma Wei-min (馬維敏) and Next Magazine publisher Pei Wei (裴偉) saying that Chinatrust has denied that Tsai is an investor in the consortium.
Apple Daily Workers’ Union president Tsai Jih-yun (蔡日雲) said the union would not comment on the allegations without seeing solid evidence.
In light of the Wealth Magazine report, a number of activists expressed concern about monopolization of Taiwanese media, which is increasingly being concentrated in the hands of a few tycoons.
They called on the Financial Supervisory Commission to investigate the sources of the funding in the Next Media Group bid and demanded that the NCC review any deal in a rigorous manner if indeed Tsai is the main player bankrolling the purchase.
Anti-Media Monster Youth Alliance spokesperson Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) said although the report has not been confirmed, there had been speculation that Tsai may be among the investors.
“Tsai has utilized the China Times to promote and espouse his views and the policies of China. We are very worried that China will in the future [effectively] control more of Taiwan’s news outlets,” he said.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,
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