The National Communications Commission (NCC) on Wednesday gave its preliminary approval to Asia-Pacific Telecom (APT) chairman Lu Fang-ming’s (呂芳銘) application to acquire Taiwan Broadband Communications (TBC) — the nation’s third-largest multiple-system operator — but listed 22 conditions that Lu must follow to secure final approval.
The deal was approved after the commission deliberated over the case for about a year, including holding one administrative hearing and one public hearing.
APT is a publicly traded firm and counts four major government funds among its investors.
Given regulations banning the government, political parties and the military from investing in the media, Lu and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) orchestrated the deal by first co-establishing a company, Dynami Vision, in Singapore, which owns 3 percent of the shares of Asia Pay Television Trust (APTT).
APTT is a publicly traded firm in Singapore and owns 100 percent of TBC shares.
The deal would allow Lu to indirectly own TBC if it is approved.
Commission spokesman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said that the 22 conditional clauses are mainly promises that Lu has made to secure the deal, including upgrading TBC’s infrastructure.
Lu has pledged to stop TBC’s cable TV analog transmission next quarter and upgrade its cable headend by the fourth quarter, Wong said.
TBC will also upgrade its broadband service facility to raise its transmission speed to 500 megabits per second by next year and 1 gigabit per second by 2019, Wong said.
To ensure that Lu does not infringe regulations barring the government, political parties and the military from investing in media outlets, Lu was told that he must not transfer his shares of TBC to either APT or Hon Hai, both of which are publicly traded firms in Taiwan.
Should Hon Hai or APT want to assign representatives as board members or overseers at TBC, the assignment must first be approved by the commission, Wong said, adding that TBC must not engage in illegal concerted actions with other companies.
To assuage public concern over media monopolization, Lu also promised that he would not operate a news channel, Wong said.
Lu was also asked to submit plans to the commission on how he would reduce the debt ratios of the cable systems under TBC, even though he has promised that the deal would not increase the debt burden borne by each one of them.
“We understand that cable system operators are in a bind when they are asked to invest in infrastructure and reduce their debt at the same time. As such, the commission has set a timeline nor a debt ratio for operators to follow,” Wong said.
The deal would cost Lu US$4.5 million, the commission said.
As Lu owns only 3 percent of APTT’s shares, the commission included a condition that he must ensure that his right to manage funds is secure.
While Lu has made headway in his quest to acquire TBC despite government funding in APT, Morgan Stanley’s move to acquire China Network Systems was thwarted because of the question of government funding.
“Lu applied to purchase TBC on his own,” Wong said. “Each case is different and cannot be evaluated using the same standards. All telecom companies are publicly traded firms and may include funding from the government. The indsutry still needs an influx of capital from the free market. We could achieve a breakthrough on the issue of government investment in media outlets if an industrywide consensus can be reached.”
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS