Taiwan Government to Sell Chunghwa Telecom Shares to Fund Econ Plan
TAIPEI -(Dow Jones)- Taiwan's Cabinet said Thursday it plans to lower its stake in Chunghwa Telecom to as low as 30% from 35.65% to help fund a NT$116 billion spending program aimed at supporting the economy at a time of rising prices.
The government aims to raise NT$52.80 billion from the share disposal, Shih Su-mei, head of the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, told reporters after the Cabinet's weekly meeting.
Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation and Communications owns the 35.65% stake in the island's largest phone services provider by revenue.
The government has yet to set a timetable for the share disposal, said Cabinet spokeswoman Vanessa Yea-ping Shih.
To mitigate the impact on the economy of higher prices, the government plans to boost domestic investment and maintain personal spending growth by subsidizing public transportation, improving infrastructure and helping local governments plug their deficits.
The government raised the island's fuel-product prices from Wednesday to help refiners catch up with rising global crude-oil prices, and will raise electricity prices in July.
-By Perris Lee Choon Siong and Alex Pevzner, Dow Jones Newswires; 8862-2502-2557; perris.lee@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
Posted to the site on 29th May 2008
