Update Sept. 18, 2024, 3:36 p.m.

Gold Apollo issued a press release on Wednesday saying the pagers involved in the explosions were manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT in Budapest, Hungary, per China Times.

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taiwanese company that owns the brand of pagers that exploded across Lebanon denied manufacturing the devices.

On Tuesday (Sept. 17), Israel's Mossad spy agency detonated 5,000 beepers used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon, killing at least nine and injuring at least 3,000, a Lebanese security source and another source told Reuters. Remnants of the pagers had the Gold Apollo Co. brand, but the company said they were manufactured by a European firm, according to UDN.

Gold Apollo founder Hsu Ching-kuang (許清光) told the media at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday that Gold Apollo has a long-standing partnership with BAC Company, involving private label authorization and regional distribution. Under this agreement, BAC is authorized to use the Gold Apollo brand in specific regions, but BAC is solely responsible for the design and manufacturing of the products.

Hsu said the pager model AR-924, mentioned in media reports, was produced and sold by BAC. He explained that Gold Apollo only provided brand authorization and had no involvement in the design or production of this particular product. 

Hsu stressed that his company has always adhered to relevant regulations and maintained transparent and compliant cooperative relationships with its partners.