Taipei, Aug. 6, 2008 (CENS)--In response to the government`s policy urging overseas Taiwanese enterprises to list their shares on the local bourse, Hon Hai Group is studying the feasibility of shifting the share listing of its Chinese operation Foxconn Technology from Hong Kong to the Taiwanese bourse.

The plan, if materialized, will inject a shot in the arm for Taiwan`s stock market, in view of the huge market value of Foxcon reaching HK$48 billion. The plan is expected to be a major item on the agenda during the meeting between Premier Liu Chao-shiuan and Hon Hai chairman Terry Guo at Hon Hai`s headquarters in Tucheng, Taipei County this morning, when Guo will brief Liu the group`s mega investment in Taiwan in the next several years.

Ting Chi-an, Hon Hai spokesman, confirmed the other day that in recognition of the government effort in liberalizing the domestic bourse to comply with the international current, Hon Hai is actively studying the feasibility of buying back the shares of Foxconn circulating in Hong Kong for changing the listing to Taiwan at proper time.

The government`s liberalization of the investments by Taiwanese enterprises in China has triggered a trend among overseas Taiwanese enterprises for listing their shares on the Taiwanese bourse. An official in charge revealed that at least three Taiwanese enterprises, two in the hi-tech sector and the other in the traditional industrial sector, have planned to shift their share listing from Hong Kong to Taiwan. The two hi-tech firms are TPV Technology and Delta Networks Inc.

One major reason for Taiwanese hi-tech enterprises planning to shift their share listing from Hong Kong to Taiwan is the disappointing performance of their share prices on the Hong Kong bourse.

Hsiuan Chien-sheng, chairman of TPV Technology, the world`s largest contract display maker, pointed out recently that PE (price/earnings) ratio of Taiwanese tech stocks listed on the Hong Kong bourse is usually lower that the corresponding ratio in Taiwan, since the Hong Kong market focuses on financial and realty stocks. PE share of Foxconn in Hong Kong, for instance, reaches only eight times now, compared with 12 times of Hon Hai`s shares in Taiwan.

Statistics provided by the Taiwan Stock Exchange show that at the end of November 2007, there were 57 Taiwanese enterprises listed on the Hong Kong bourse, 27 of whose share prices had dropped below their IPO (initial public offering) prices. The turnover rate of Taiwanese stocks on the Hong Kong bourse reached only 41% in 2006, compared with overall 56% of the Hong Kong bourse and 142% of the Taiwanese bourse.

In addition to share listing issue, the meeting between Premier Liu and Terry Guo will address Hon Hai`s major investment plans in Taiwan, including establishing a global logistics center in Kaohsiung harbor for handling the transshipped goods from its Vietnamese factories. In addition, Hon Hai plans to set up a software R&D center in the Kaohsiung Software Park, which will employ 3,000 software engineers in five years.

(by Philip Liu)