Shin Kong may teams up with KDDI to increase its stake in Fitel

Taiwan-based Shin Kong Group reportedly may increase its stake in financially-struggling First International Telecom (Fitel) by teaming up with Japan-based mobile telecom carrier KDDI, according to sources in the Taiwan telecom industry. Previous media report also indicated that the Shin Kong-KDDI team may also acquire a stake in Asia Pacific Broadband Telecom (APBT).

Both Fitel and APBT declined to comment on the reports. However, market sources indicated that KDDI actually conducted a due diligence inspection on Fitel a few months ago.

Based on the current rulings set forth by Taiwan's NCC (National Communications Commission), Shin Kong may find it difficult for it to take up more than a 10% stake in APBT, as the group already is a major shareholder of Fitel, a WiMAX licensee for the northern part of Taiwan, the sources noted.

However, the equity investment in both APBT and Fitel by the Shin Kong-KDDI team may lead to a merger between APBT and Fitel, which should be able to help Fitel launch its WiMAX services utilizing APBT's fixed-line network infrastructure, the sources noted.