After 9-in-1 elections, Hon Hai may invest in Kaohsiung

Taiwan’s 9-in-1 elections has ended. Kuomintang (KMT) won the majority of city and county seats nationwide, while the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) suffered a crushing defeat. It is said that Hon Hai (2317-TW) chairman Terry Gou and Kaohsiung newly-elected Mayor Kuo-yu Han (韓國瑜) of the KMT immediately talked in a phone conversation to discuss the possibility of investing in Kaohsiung. In response, Hon Hai did not deny the phone call, but refused to give more details, causing speculations in the market.

According to media reports, former Kaohsiung County magistrate Chiu-Hsing Yang (楊秋興) said in an interview that Han called Guo immediately after the election and invited Hon Hai to invest in Kaohsiung. The two sides also talked about Hon Hai’s Internet Data Center (IDC) in Kaohsiung Software Technology Park, hoping to develop in more aspects such as talent recruitment and business attraction.

In response, Hon Hai did not deny the phone call, but only said it is not convenient to disclose more details.

In recent years, Hon Hai has actively transformed its domestic headquarters in Taiwan into a “R&D Center”. The Group invested in the Kaohsiung Software Technology Park, built an IDC, and laid out key technologies, aiming to transform Kaohsiung Software Park into the group’s software technology R&D.

In addition, Hon Hai’s subsidiary InnoLux (3481-TW) spent about NTD30bn this year to acquire Hon Hai's 6th generation low temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) production line in Kaohsiung. The new team has entered the facility and started to take orders of high-end panels.