The Kaohsiung City Government and other institutions are striving to obtain the right to issue a sports lottery to help finance the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung, an official said yesterday.
The official said Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (
The Kaohsiung Bureau of Finance and the Bank of Kaohsiung hope that the central government will consider balancing the development of southern and northern Taiwan and approve Kaohsiung's bid to issue the lottery, the official said.
Three other banks -- Chinatrust Commercial Bank, Taipei Fubon Bank and Taishin International Bank -- are also keenly pursuing the right of issuance in addition to the Bank of Kaohsiung.
Although Bank of Kaohsiung cannot compete with the other three private banks in terms of capital and scale, it boasts the healthiest financial situation and the lowest rate of non-performing loans, the official said.
Furthermore, the Bank of Kaohsiung's rates of return on assets and equity stands at 0.33 percent and 4.67 percent respectively -- higher than those of its three rivals, the official said.
To win the issuance rights, he continued, the bank has formed a task force, whose members have visited several countries to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of issuing the lottery.