Taiwan to Foxconn: Selling stake in Chinese chipmaker? We’ll still fine you - The Register

Foxconn plans to merchantability its arguable involvement successful Chinese chip-making elephantine Tsinghua Unigroup, but that reportedly won't halt Taiwan's authorities from fining the iPhone supplier for buying shares successful the archetypal place.

The Taiwanese electronics manufacturer, known formally arsenic Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd, announced connected Friday that it would offload its indirect number involvement successful Tsinghua Unigroup, which it holds done its China-listed Foxconn Industrial Internet subsidiary. According to Bloomberg, the buyer, Yantai Haixiu IC Investment Center, volition instrumentality the involvement for nary little than 5.38 cardinal yuan ($771 million).

That's however overmuch Foxconn paid for its presumption successful Tsinghua Unigroup, which was a contentious determination successful the presumption of Taiwan's authorities from the infinitesimal the transaction was disclosed back successful July.

It's nary astonishment that Taiwan is wary of home companies making investments successful China. That's due to the fact that Taiwan has faced accrued aggression from the Middle Kingdom, which claims the self-governing land federation arsenic its ain and has not ruled retired utilizing subject unit to "reunify" the two. Just see however China sent 27 craft into the Taiwan aerial defence recognition portion aft US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visited the island successful aboriginal August, and you get the idea.  

Taiwan's authorities has said that Foxconn didn't get its support erstwhile the institution bought shares successful Tsinghua Unigroup. The concern whitethorn person besides violated Taiwanese law, which explicitly prohibits high-tech investments among Chinese firms perceived to beryllium a nationalist information risk.

It was previously reported that Taiwanese authorities officials person been weighing a good of up to T$25 cardinal ($813,749) against Foxconn.

Now Bloomberg and Reuters study that Taiwan could contented the good soon, contempt Foxconn's stated program to get escaped of its Tsinghua Unigroup stake.

"Even though the concern was aboriginal pulled, the information has already been established that they invested first, and they volition beryllium fined," a root told Reuters.

• Foxconn sinks $500m into India for iPhones, semiconductors
• Foxconn mill chaos means much iPhone delays implicit the vacation period
• Foxconn workers protestation implicit wage and lockdowns astatine iPhone mill successful China
• Industrial robots successful China propulsion radical retired of jobs, slash wages

This is rather the misstep for Foxconn, which has been looking to grow beyond physics components into the semiconductor manufacture with caller investments. In summation to acquiring its Tsinghua Unigroup stake, the institution has formed associated ventures to physique spot manufacturing plants successful Malaysia and India, the second of which volition payment from a recently disclosed $500 cardinal concern from Foxconn.

China has been seeking to execute self-sufficiency successful semiconductors, which has go progressively hard arsenic caller US-led sanctions this twelvemonth chopped the state disconnected from the overseas instrumentality and tools it needs to marque precocious chips.

Tsinghua Unigroup, a immense conglomerate spun retired of Tsinghua University successful Beijing, is simply a cardinal portion of China's plan, but the institution has struggled financially successful caller years. This yet led the state-owned steadfast in April to person a $9.4 cardinal bailout from the government-backed Beijing Jianguang Asset Management Co. Ltd aft accumulating much than $30 cardinal of debt. ®