Chunghwa faces new challenges

share in the broadband Internet connection market, servicing 3.3 million

households. It also enjoys a nearly 40 percent share of the mobile-phone

market, with 8.1 million subscribers, according to the company's figures.

Whether and when Chunghwa Telecom will be dethroned or simply becomes more

competitive remains to be seen, but it will have to help employees adjust

their mindset and devise new structures and systems to better compete with

rivals at home and abroad, its former chairman said.

As its bonus system failed to reflect the quality of employees' work performance, it is imperative for the company to adopt a carrot-and-stick approach to boost efficiency, said Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國), former company chairman.

It also needs to revitalize its manpower base by encouraging older workers to retire and hiring younger employees to rejuvenate operations and create new services, Mao said. The average age of the company's 28,000 employees is around 47 years.

Mao said Chunghwa Telecom should not be complacent about its performance in the nation's tiny market and should emulate SingTel, Singapore's leading telecom company, by expanding its territory overseas.

Following years of exploitation, SingTel has started making profits in

Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. Seventy percent of its

revenues come from abroad and only 30 percent is generated at home.

"Internationalization is the route to take and will provide Chunghwa Telecom

with much-needed growth momentum. It will have to seize the opportunity and

quickly tap into potential markets outside Taiwan before it's too late," Mao

said.