Lawmakers on Monday criticized the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ (MOTC) plan to sell about 111 million shares of Chunghwa Telecom, saying it would cost the ministry NT$500 million (US$15.9million) in annual revenue.
The ministry submitted a draft budget to the legislature’s Transportation Committee, including its plan to sell shares of the nation’s largest telecom company, in which it holds a 35.29 percent stake.
The planned sale was opposed by People First Party Legislator Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞), Democratic Progressive Party legislators Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) and Cheng Pao-ching (鄭寶清), independent Legislator Chao Cheng-yu (趙正宇), as well as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Chien Tung-ming (簡東明) and Jeng Tian-tsair (鄭天財).
They said in a statement that the government over the past five years received NT$14 billion in stock dividends from its stake in Chunghwa.
“The proposed sale would cause the ministry to go against a resolution made at the Steering Committee for Promoting Privatization of State-Owned Enterprises, which says that the ideal ratio for state-owned shares is 34 percent,” the statement said. “Should the ministry proceed with its plan to sell Chunghwa shares, its annual revenue would be cut by NT$500 million.”
A resolution proposed by the lawmakers obtained unanimous approval from committee members.
The committee removed about NT$11.48 billion from the ministry’s budget revenue, which the ministry planned to acquire through the sale of Chunghwa shares.
In addition, the committee removed revenue of about NT$11.01 million that the ministry planned to make by putting the initial funds into investment.
Lawmakers also removed processing fees and securities transaction tax payment from the share sale, which was about NT$55.75 million.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) said the ministry included the funds into the budget in compliance with the Executive Yuan’s plan to sell Chunghwa shares, adding that the ministry has been listing the funds on its budget proposal every year.
The funds would be used to cover other expenditures, he said.
The ministry had also proposed allocating NT$10.71 million for ministry officials to travel abroad to attend meetings or other functions, including NT$3.06 million for trips to China and NT$7.64 million for trips to other nations.
The committee cut NT$1 million from the travel budget, saying that officials repeatedly visited certain nations and might use the funds for tourism rather than official business.
The committee, following a proposal by Cheng Pao-ching, also froze one-10th of a NT$270 million budget that the ministry planned to allocate for traffic safety awareness campaigns, in light of the increasing number of motorcycle accidents over the past nine years.
The funds can only be unfrozen after the ministry briefs the committee about its plans to reduce the number of motorbike-related accidents.
The committee also froze NT$566 million allocated for the first year of a four-year plan to build a “smart” transport system, because the Executive Yuan has yet to approve the proposal.
If the proposal is approved, it would then be presented to the committee before the ministry can start using the funds.
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