In the News

Ting Hsin eyes Taipei bourse listing

• Publication Date：06/09/2009
• Source： United Daily News

Ting Hsin International Group Executive Director cum Wei Chuan Foods Corp. Chairman Wei Yin-chun June 8 announced that, in seeing that the conditions by which a stock may be listed in Taiwan have gradually come into line with international standards, the group companies under Ting Hsin are evaluating home listings. The market sees this as a strong indication that the group’s Ting-qiao Holdings Corp., whose business revolves mainly around restaurant chain stores, will seek a place on the local index.

The group has recently repatriated funds to Taiwan, a move that has attracted much interest. Riding on the news of potential listings, Wei Chuan’s stock has risen in recent days to higher than that of Uni-President Enterprises Corp. on the Taiwan stock market. Wei Chuan’s stock price ended June 8 at NT$35 (US$1.06), while Uni-President was at NT$34.5, a difference of NT$0.5. This is the first time in the 10 years that Wei Chuan has been a part of the Ting Hsin group that its stock price has been higher than that of Uni-President, making the competition between these food giants a focus of attention.

Wei Yin-chun yesterday stressed that Ting Hsin was actively bidding for commercial real estate in Taiwan, believing that the rate of return on commercial leases is reasonable.

Wei further pointed out that Taiwan is where Ting Hsin and its subsidiaries got their start. The group is thus, he said, looking for, and has begun to evaluate, further listings on Taiwan’s stock market.

Though Wei did not disclose which of Ting Hsin’s firms might be the first to seek a Taiwan listing, he did mention that Dico’s Fried Chicken this year looks to have 1,000 stores in operation, hoping to become larger than McDonald’s and be mainland China’s second-largest fast-food chain operator. Meanwhile, beef noodle operations under the Master Kong label are also expanding, showing that a listing by Ting Hsin subsidiary Ting-qiao on Taiwan’s stock market looks to be a strong possibility.

Market insiders said that at present, Ting-qiao—whose main operations are in restaurant chains—throws off the largest profits and is the biggest of Ting Hsin’s subsidiary corporations. It is thus this subsidiary that is seen as most likely to be listed. Master Kong, or Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp., has the highest stock price and the highest market capitalization of any Taiwan-invested food company on Hong Kong’s stock market. As such, it cannot be ruled out that this firm could follow the example of Want Want China Holdings Ltd. in listing on Taiwan’s market as a Taiwan Depository Receipt.

Ting Hsin’s subsidiaries are mainly involved in food manufacturing, the operation of chain restaurants and logistics. For food manufacturing, the group relies on Tingyi and Wei Chuan. Tingyi has a lock on room-temperature drinks and instant noodles. Wei Chuan is strong in the fresh food, cold drink and biotechnology sectors.

Ting Hsin’s logistics business is best seen in the Family Mart company of chain stores. This year is Family Mart’s sixth year with a presence in Shanghai, and it has been forecast that the firm will begin to turn a profit by the end of this year. Ting-qiao is Ting Hsin’s major restaurant business, under which Dico’s Fried Chicken has 875 stores, expected to grow to more than 1,000 by the close of 2009.(Matt)