China Mobile Communications has entered into a strategic alliance with Taiwan’s Far EasTone Telecommunications (FET) for a 12 per cent stake in the latter for $529 million (FET will issue 444.34 million new shares specifically for private place ment by

China Mobile Communications has entered into a strategic alliance with Taiwan’s Far EasTone Telecommunications (FET) for a 12 per cent stake in the latter for $529 million (FET will issue 444.34 million new shares specifically for private placement by China Mobile at a 13.64 per cent premium based on the closing share price on April 29). The companies plan to closely cooperate in a number of areas including procurement, roaming services, data and value-added services, as well as network and technology advancement. The deal is the first direct investment in the island by a mainland-based company in more than 60 years, and came a day after the Chinese Ministry of Commerce lifted a ban on investments in Taiwan.