Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) said yesterday its current operations were “normal,” calling for confidence in the company after a tax probe launched by Chinese authorities.
One of the world’s largest contract electronics makers and a key producer of Apple Inc’s iPhones, Hon Hai is under tax and land investigations in several Chinese provinces, Beijing’s state-run Global Times publication said earlier this month.
The report did not specify what exactly regulators were looking into, nor did it mention any specific offenses that Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), may have committed.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
In a statement issued yesterday, Hon Hai said there was now significant speculation about its operations that “affects capital market activity.”
The company’s management “continues to communicate and discuss with external counterparts our position and ongoing operating conditions,” it added.
“Operations are normal presently. We urge everyone to have confidence in the Group and to refrain from spreading rumors.”
Last week, the company said it would cooperate with the relevant authorities in their probing of “operations concerned,” but did not provide further details.
The investigations come as self-ruled Taiwan prepares to hold presidential and legislative elections in January next year.
Officials from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have defended Hon Hai and accused Beijing of trying to interfere in its elections.
Vice President William Lai (賴清德), who is now running for president, has warned that Taiwanese companies based in China may be forced to relocate if they feel “unjustly pressured,” He also urged Beijing to refrain from supporting specific candidates in the elections.
Hon Hai is China’s largest private-sector employer, with more than a million workers nationwide.
Its billionaire founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) — who handed over the management reins four years ago — is currently running as a long-shot independent candidate in the Taiwanese presidential election.
The other presidential candidates are Hou You-yi (侯友宜) of the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), with both in favor of friendlier ties with Beijing.
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