CPC Corp, Taiwan’s (CPC, 台灣中油) handover ceremony yesterday was met by a loud protest from a union official who blamed government inefficiency for the state-run company’s heavy losses.
Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘) presided over the handover ceremony yesterday to install his former deputy, Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥), as chairman, replacing Pan Wenent (潘文炎) who resigned earlier this year.
Sun Jie-wei (孫志偉), a board member of Taiwan Petroleum Workers Union, stood up and shouted that CPC’s heavy losses were a result of the government’s irresponsible decision to freeze oil prices in October 2007 despite rising global crude prices.
PHOTO: CNA
Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘) rebutted that if it weren’t for the floating-price mechanism introduced since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) came to power, the oil refinery’s losses would have been even heavier.
Sun also railed against the current administration’s shortcomings, told Yiin to resign and suggested that the currently unemployed Pan run for a legislative seat.
Despite the unexpected protest, Yiin expressed confidence in Shih, saying he would be of tremendous value to the ailing oil refinery given his background in chemistry as well as decades of related professional experience.
“CPC’s primary goal is to provide top quality and stable supply of oil products, stimulate the development of petrochemical industries and service individual consumers,” Shih said.
Shih said his agenda included the renovation of the third naphtha cracker, petrochemical development and production, coal exploration, developing marketing channels, overseas upstream exploration and promoting green technology research and development.
Shih said that raising fuel prices would not bring the oil refinery back to profitability, adding that his goal was to boost business by expanding into new markets, with the possibility of exporting energy, similar to rival Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化).
Addressing the issue of the government’s plan to sign an economic cooperation framework agreement with China, Shih said that local petrochemical, heavy machinery and textile businesses supported such an agreement.
Meanwhile, CPC vice president Lin Maw-wen (林茂文) said CPC posted after-tax losses of NT$118 billion (US$3.39 billion) last year.
Lin told the Taipei Times that after taking out NT$62.9 billion in additional paid-in capital and retained earnings, its losses amounted to NT$55.1 billion.
He added that CPC had set a target of NT$6 billion in profit this year, which would narrow its losses to NT$49.1 billion.
“In order to fund our investments and recoup losses, CPC will engage in three years of government fund-raising to clear up the NT$49.1 billion mess,” Lin said.
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