The Ministry of Finance yesterday said it opposed Ting Hsin International Group’s (頂新國際集團) plan to sell its stake in Taipei Financial Center Corp (TFCC, 台北金融大樓公司), the firm that operates Taipei 101, to any foreign investors.
The ministry’s remark comes two days after Ting Hsin announced plans to sell its 37.17 percent share of TFCC to IOI Properties Group Bhd, one of Malaysia’s top land developers, for NT$25.14 billion (US$805.92 million).
“Taipei 101 is a landmark and a symbol of Taiwan, which makes it inappropriate for it to be managed by a foreign company,” Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-ford (張盛和) said during a question-and-answer session at a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee.
The ministry would notify the Investment Commission of its objections once the commission receives a proposal from either Ting Hsin or IOI Properties about the deal, Chang said.
However, it might be challenging for state-run investors to take over Ting Hsin’s stake in TFCC, given the sale price, Chang said.
Asked whether Ting Hsin and IOI Properties would complete the transaction overseas to avoid paying tax in Taiwan, Chang said that if the deal goes through, the ministry has estimated that it could generate about NT$1 billion in taxes for the Treasury.
Meanwhile, Ting Hsin said it did not consider its deal with IOI Properties as handing over TFCC’s management rights to a foreign firm.
“The government has always been the largest shareholder and the leader of TFCC, and its role is not expected to change [after the deal],” Ting Hsin said in a statement yesterday afternoon.
Introducing international capital might help Taipei 101 become a world-renowned brand, instead of just a Taiwan landmark, Ting Hsin said.
Ting Hsin said it had not reached a deal with IOI Properties based solely on price, but had taken into consideration the Malaysian firm’s experience in property development and how that might benefit TFCC.
In related news, the ministry is softening its stance on the proposed capital gains tax on major investors.
At issue is a bill sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Ming-tsai (羅明才) and his colleagues proposing raising the taxable threshold on active stock traders from NT$1 billion to NT$5 billion.
Chang said he expects lawmakers to at least maintain a taxable threshold, instead of canceling the ceiling entirely, which would make it harder to tax very wealthy people.
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