Populist pro-China mayor to face Tsai in Taiwan presidential clash

TAIPEI - A populist mayor who favors closer ties with Beijing was announced as the presidential candidate for Taiwan's opposition on Monday as it looks to unseat President Tsai Ing-wen in upcoming elections.

Han Kuo-yu won the primary for the opposition Kuomintang party, comfortably seeing off a challenge from Taiwan's richest man, billionaire Foxconn founder Terry Gou.

His victory sets up an unpredictable clash as Taiwan goes to the polls in January in a contest that will be dominated by relations with China.

Han, 62, has had a meteoric rise in the last two years, journeying from relative obscurity to becoming his party's presidential candidate in a phenomenon that has been dubbed the "Han tide".

Some have likened him to US President Donald Trump and other populist leaders who hail from outside establishment circles and command a fervent voter base buoyed by lofty promises of resurrecting their fortunes.

Han won 45 percent of votes cast in the KMT's primary -- which polls members of the public by telephone -- compared with Gou's 28 percent, a major setback for a man who made his fortune assembling iPhones and other key electronic devices in huge factories on the Chinese mainland.

Han was a relative unknown until he seized the Kaohsiung mayoralty in local elections last year in a contest few thought he would win given the southern city had long been a heartland for Tsai's ruling Democratic Progressive Party.

He has been able to muster huge, enthusiastic crowds during his presidential bid, where he has vowed to restore warm ties with Beijing and kickstart the economy.

Relations with Beijing have soured since Tsai came to power three years ago because she and her party refuse to recognize the idea that Taiwan is part of "one China". 

Since her election Beijing has cut official communications, ramped up military exercises, poached diplomatic allies and ratcheted up economic pressure on the island. 

Taiwan has been a de facto sovereign nation since the end of a civil war in 1949 but China still views it as its own territory and has vowed to seize it, by force if necessary.

Tsai has described the 2020 presidential election as a "fight for freedom and democracy", setting herself up as someone who can defend Taiwan from an increasingly assertive Beijing. 

Supporters see Han as a plain-talking maverick and political outsider who has shaken up the staid politics of the KMT -- but detractors are unnerved by his efforts promoting warmer China ties.

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source: news.abs-cbn.com

Foxconn agrees to buy Sharp after slashing original offer

TOKYO/TAIPEI - Taiwan's Foxconn agreed to acquire Sharp Corp at a big discount to its original offer after a month of wrangling that sowed more doubts over whether the two companies can work well together and fend off fierce competition from smartphone display rivals.

Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, will pay about $3.5 billion for a two-thirds stake, nearly $900 million less than its initial offer, the companies said.

The deal marks the largest acquisition by a foreign company in Japan's insular tech industry and the end of independence for a 100-year-old company that started out making belt buckles and mechanical pencils.

It would also give Foxconn control of Sharp's advanced screen technology and help strengthen its pricing power with major client Apple Inc.

Highlighting Sharp's dire finances, the ailing display maker estimated an operating loss of around 170 billion yen ($1.5 billion) for the year through Thursday in contrast to its earlier profit forecast of 10 billion yen.

Foxconn said it will buy Sharp's shares at 88 yen per share, a 35 percent discount to their close on Wednesday.

The two companies had been on the verge of finalizing a deal last month but Foxconn postponed at the last minute following the emergence of previously undisclosed contingent liabilities at Sharp.

The hitch revived ill will from four years ago, when Foxconn agreed to take a stake in Sharp as part of a broader partnership. Sharp then warned of losses and Foxconn walked away as the shares sank.

Analysts said that even without the history of distrust, there was little assurance the combined company will be able to deflect pricing pressure in LCDs or beat rivals in OLED, a new screen technology which Apple is expected to adopt for its iPhones by 2018.

"If you are talking about two years, it will be difficult. Three years, there is potential. Five years, then definitely,” said Kylie Huang, analyst with Daiwa-Cathay Capital Markets in Taipei.

She added that Samsung Electronics' display unit and LG Display will for some time likely remain the preferred choice for OLED or organic light-emitting diode screens which are thinner, lighter and more flexible than other displays.

Shares in Sharp rose 4 percent on Wednesday ahead of the announcement. The Taiwan Stock Exchange suspended trading in Foxconn shares for the Wednesday session.

Although the Japanese firm became a highly-profitable manufacturer of premium TVs, massive investments in advanced liquid crystal display (LCD) plants failed to pay off as more nimble Asian rivals slashed prices. Two bank bailouts since 2012 have failed to help turn its business around.

The Yomiuri newspaper reported on Wednesday that the Taiwanese company was planning to overhaul Sharp's management including replacing its CEO.

Sharp has said Foxconn is set to pick a majority of its board. But investors had expected it to leave much of management in place for some time. Sources had said earlier this year that Foxconn Chief Executive Terry Gou offered to keep most members of top management in place, and to not fire employees.

Foxconn executives in Taipei declined to comment on plans for CEO Kozo Takahashi, saying more details would be available at a signing event and news conference on Saturday.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com