Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said it is teaming up with CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控) to create a new fund targeting electric vehicle (EV) investments, the latest step in its quest to expand into the EV market.
Fundraising is to start in the fourth quarter, with an eye to raising between NT$5 billion and NT$10 billion (US$178.5 million and US$357.1 million) from institutional investors and Taiwan’s National Development Fund (NDF), the companies said in a joint statement.
The fund would “accelerate the rate of development” of EV companies by providing not just funding, but technical support, Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said in the statement.
Photo courtesy of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co
“With Hon Hai’s technical advantage and CTBC’s financial expertise, we hope to speed up the development of the EV industry and provide Taiwan with another world-class industry beyond semiconductors and information and communications technology,” Liu said.
Bringing public and private investment together is the key to fostering the next generation of Taiwanese EV companies, CTBC Bank chairman Morris Li (利明献) said.
“We will proactively invite the NDF, financial investors and industrial sector investors to join us, and contribute to upgrading Taiwan’s industrial capabilities,” Li said.
More than 1,800 EV supply chain companies have joined the Mobility in Harmony, or MIH, alliance, which was started by Hon Hai, but became an independent entity this month.
The fund will not be limited to companies that are in the MIH alliance, but it will be “a factor in selection,” Hon Hai said.
Hon Hai is a participant in Japan’s Softbank Vision Fund, China’s Sinovation venture and other similar ventures in the US. However, this is the first time it has focused on investing in a Taiwanese fund.
“In the past, Hon Hai mostly participated in overseas venture capital funds,” the company said. “This is the first time we are participating in a fund that primarily supports industry in Taiwan.”
“It is in line with our company’s direction of development into EVs,” it said.
“In the future, EV start-ups or traditional companies wishing to participate in the EV space will be able to come to the fund to obtain industry connections, funds and access to technology,” Hon Hai said.
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