Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大) yesterday said it has invested US$20 million in series E round of funding for Vietnam’s biggest e-commerce company, Tiki Corp, as it seeks to gain a foothold in rapidly growing greater Southeast Asian (GSEA) markets.
The strategic investment is Taiwan Mobile’s first in Vietnam and would help the company and its e-commerce subsidiary, Momo.com Inc (富邦媒體), explore potential partners and new growth opportunities beyond its home market, the nation’s second-biggest telecom operator said.
“The strategic cooperation with Tiki is the company’s first investment in Vietnam. It also marks the company’s first strategic and meaningful step to make inroads into the country and GSEA markets,” Taiwan Mobile president Jamie Lin (林之晨) said in a statement.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan Mobile considers GSEA markets as one of its 5G development targets and would continue to seek new strategic partnerships in the area, including e-commerce, logistics, broadband and 5G-related applications, with the goal of becoming a major telecom and technology services provider in the region, the statement said.
Ho Chi Minh City-based Tiki started out as an online bookstore and has since developed into an e-commerce operator selling a wide range of goods, it said.
The transaction would help Momo.com tap into the rapidly growing e-commerce market in Vietnam and allow it to leverage Tiki’s local strength in terms of market position, warehouses and logistic systems. The companies expect to create synergies in expanding sales and logistics, the statement said.
From last year to 2025, the e-commerce market in Vietnam is expected to post an annual compound growth rate of 34 percent to reach US$29 billion, Taiwan Mobile said, citing a joint report by Google, Temasek Holdings Pte and Bain & Co.
Momo.com, which contributed more than 50 percent to Taiwan Mobile’s revenue, has been cautious about its overseas expansion. It operates a TV sales unit in Thailand.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) secured a record 70.2 percent share of the global foundry business in the second quarter, up from 67.6 percent the previous quarter, and continued widening its lead over second-placed Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said on Monday. TSMC posted US$30.24 billion in sales in the April-to-June period, up 18.5 percent from the previous quarter, driven by major smartphone customers entering their ramp-up cycle and robust demand for artificial intelligence chips, laptops and PCs, which boosted wafer shipments and average selling prices, TrendForce said in a report. Samsung’s sales also grew in the second quarter, up
LIMITED IMPACT: Investor confidence was likely sustained by its relatively small exposure to the Chinese market, as only less advanced chips are made in Nanjing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) saw its stock price close steady yesterday in a sign that the loss of the validated end user (VEU) status for its Nanjing, China, fab should have a mild impact on the world’s biggest contract chipmaker financially and technologically. Media reports about the waiver loss sent TSMC down 1.29 percent during the early trading session yesterday, but the stock soon regained strength and ended at NT$1,160, unchanged from Tuesday. Investors’ confidence in TSMC was likely built on its relatively small exposure to the Chinese market, as Chinese customers contributed about 9 percent to TSMC’s revenue last
Taiwan and Japan will kick off a series of cross border listings of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) this month, a milestone for the internationalization of the local ETF market, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) said Wednesday. In a statement, the TWSE said the cross border ETF listings between Taiwan and Japan are expected to boost the local capital market’s visibility internationally and serve as a key for Taiwan becoming an asset management hub in the region. An ETF, a pooled investment security that is traded like an individual stock, can be tracked from the price of a single stock to a large and
Despite global geopolitical uncertainties and macroeconomic volatility, DBS Bank Taiwan (星展台灣) yesterday reported that its first-half revenue rose 10 percent year-on-year to a record NT$16.5 billion (US$537.8 million), while net profit surged 65 percent to an unprecedented NT$4.4 billion. The nation’s largest foreign bank made the announcement on the second anniversary of its integration with Citibank Taiwan Ltd’s (花旗台灣) consumer banking business. “Taiwan is a key market for DBS. Over the years, we have consistently demonstrated our commitment to deepening our presence in Taiwan, not only via continued investment to support franchise growth, but also through a series of bolt-on acquisitions,” DBS