Despite doubts over its ability to pool sufficient funds in time to build the nation's first bullet train, the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC, 台灣高鐵) yesterday denied media reports that it will seek help from state-run enterprises to resolve its dire financial situation.
A Chinese-language newspaper reported yesterday that the Executive Yuan has been lobbying legislators under the table in an attempt to lift the ban that prohibits state-run enterprises' larger-scale investment in the company.
Under the Statute for the Encouragement of Private Sector Participation in Public Infrastructure Projects (
In 2002, however, the Legislative Yuan passed an incidental resolution, forbidding the government to venture further in the then much-criticized transportation project.
Since then, the government's investment in the mammoth project remained at 16 percent of THSRC's total capital.
According to the news report, since government funding only accounts for 16 percent of THSRC's total investment, transportation and Cabinet-level officials are busy urging the legislators to lift the resolution so that THSRC could pull in further investments.
The company said the report was groundless, saying that it is just about to convene a meeting with shareholders on March 4 on fundraising issues, according to a company statement released yesterday.
"We have no plans to seek help from the government. Instead, we intend to raise NT$13.5 billion through issuance of preferred shares," THSRC's vice president of public affairs, Arthur Chiang (
"We will ask for authorization from our shareholders in the meeting to issue the preferred shares," Chiang said.
After THSRC failed to meet its target of raising NT$7.5 billion (US$236.6 million) by the end of last year, the government-sponsored company postponed its entire fundraising schedule. As the company only secured NT$1.5 billion before its original deadline, it needs to raise NT$6 billion by next month.
In addition, it also plans to raise another NT$7.5 billion by May. Through issuance of preferred shares, the company believes, it will have a total of NT$13.5 billion in capital in its pocket in time.
"As the upcoming opening of operations in October gives a boost to investors' confidence, we are progressing well on fundraising," Chiang said in a telephone interview.
THSRC also said its five original shareholders -- Continental Engineering Corp (大陸工程), Teco Electric & Machinery Co (東元電機), Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控), Pacific Electric Wire & Cable (太平洋電線電纜) and Evergreen Group (長榮集團) -- will continue to expand their investment in transportation infrastructure, the statement said.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last