2017-08-21

Taroko Development, a subsidiary of Taroko (1432), has been divided by an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on August 15 to split the new Taroko shopping mall business. The Kaohsiung Caoya Road Shopping Center opened by Taroko will be led by Shin Kong Mitsukoshi, with Taichung New Times Shopping Center and Hsinchu Huangya Plaza as its main operating units. Taroko stopped falling in the low range today, and the stock price attacked to rise to NTD 15.5.

Due to the difficult environment impact on the operation of the department store industry in the first half of the year, Taroko showed a loss in the first half of the year; In the first half of the year, the revenue was NTD 600 million, the net operating loss was 89.34 million yuan, the after-tax loss was NTD 160 million, and the net loss per share was NTD 0.96.

Taroko has previously announced a letter of intent for strategic cooperation with Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store. It will jointly enter the field of experiential shopping mall operation by dividing the equity interest of the independent Kaohsiung Caoya Road Shopping Center under the Taroko Development Company and transferring 60% of the equity interest to Shin Kong Mitsukoshi.

Taroko is expected to transfer 60% of the equity interest in Kaohsiung Caoya Road Shopping Center after the division of the subsidiary, the Taroko Development Business, to Shin Kong Mitsukoshi, with an estimated total transfer amount of approximately NT$1.17 billion, with a profit of about NTD100 million on the initial estimate.

Taroko Development Company will be divided into two companies to continue operation, and the base date of the division is set as September 1, 2017 of the Republic of China; The original Taroko development will be mainly operated by Kaohsiung Caoya Road Shopping Center, and the new “Taroko Shopping Center Business Co., Ltd.” will be based on the operation of shopping malls in Taichung Daluge New Era and Taroko Square (Hsinchu).Taroko Square (Hsinchu) is expected to open next year.

【Times reporter Shen Peihua Taipei report】