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KMT puts Central Investment into trust

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said yesterday that it would place Central Investment Holding Co, the last KMT-owned company, into trust by end of this month.

Disposing of the company has been the party's priority after former party chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) pledged last year to resolve the party assets issue, sell the firm by June 30, and not to own any companies in the future.

KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yi (吳敦義) said yesterday that the party will put the company into trust, despite its difficulty in finding a buyer.

"The KMT will not own any companies in the future, and will put the assets into trust, so that our workers' livelihoods will be taken care of with the interest from the trust," Wu told the party's 17th Central Review Committee meeting at party headquarters.

Wu said the party was sincerely trying to resolve its assets issue and urged the Democratic Progressive Party not to use the issue in the next legislative and presidential elections.

Chang Che-shen (張哲琛), head of the party's Administration and Management Committee, said monthly staff salaries and pensions cost the KMT NT$150 million (US$4,54 million), and so party assets remained important to the KMT even though it would no longer own businesses.

The holding company, worth about NT$2.3 billion, was the KMT's biggest asset after it sold five assets -- its Policy Research and Development Department, three media outlets and its former headquarters -- for a total of NT$11.4 billion when Ma was chairman.

Ma made the clean-up of party assets a priority after becoming chairman. He released a report last August, entitled Bidding Farewell to the Past and Explaining to the People, detaining the party's assets and how they have been handled under different chairmen dating back to Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石).

Chang said once the firm was sold, the money from the sale would be placed in the party's retirement fund, which includes an annual pension budget of NT$2 billion for 900 party workers and NT$900 million for 900 retirees.
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