Mr. Tseng: The company was established in 1996, when we spun off from our parent company, PEWC, which stands for Pacific Electric Wire & Cable, which operates in four countries, or four regions. PEWC is our largest shareholder and still holds 65% of our shares. Our other major shareholder is SOF, which is a private equity fund of Michael Dell, which owns 9.7%. Altogether, these two companies own about 75%, leaving about 25% to free-float in the market. We are listed in the U.S. under the symbol AWRCF.OB, and we have manufacturing operations in China, Thailand, Singapore and Australia.
In China we produce two kinds of products, enameled wires and fiber-optic cable. Enameled wires are produced in Shenzhen and in the Shanghai area, and fiber-optic cable is produced in a joint venture in Shandong Province, in which we hold a 51% stake. In China we have five operating units. We are also contemplating adding a new one by reopening a facility we had previously shut down due to a product phaseout.
We also have operations in Thailand. Charoong Thai is our flagship company, and we also operate Siam Fiber Optics, SFO, which also manufactures fiber-optic cable. Charoong Thai produces a full range of products, such as power cables, enameled wire, fiber-optic cable and some legacy wire products. We have been in Thailand for 40 years and have developed strong relationships there, which create a strong entry barrier for competitors.
We also have a manufacturing facility in Singapore that produces mostly low-voltage power cables. Low voltage means anything below 1,000 volts, and these cables are primarily used in commercial and residential buildings. We have been in Singapore for over 46 years, and we know the market and its players very well. We win many contracts from the Singapore government, like Phase I of a casino project, which is nearly complete. Phase II and other future projects will be starting later this year and beyond. Singapore's public investment could soon make the country the first in Asia to deploy a high-speed fiber-optic infrastructure as well as a smart grid.
Lastly, we also have a manufacturing facility in Australia. Competition in Australia is intense, and we have our own sales and service team located in distribution centers in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane. It's a relatively small operation, with fewer than 100 employees, but we have been able to make good use of our capacity. Overall, Asia Pacific Wire & Cable has about 1,600 employees in these four countries.
To summarize, Singapore is mostly a mix of government-sponsored projects. In Thailand sales not only come from government-sponsored projects, but also from large construction projects. In China the government is focusing heavily on building out its telecommunications infrastructure. Enameled wires are primarily used by makers of electric motors and consumer appliances, and we also cooperate with Taiwanese manufacturers. Australia produces only low-voltage power cable, which is primarily used for residential as well as commercial projects.
Tickers included in this excerpt: AWRCF
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