Two People First Party (PFP) legislators yesterday urged colleagues to openly state their innocence in an ongoing stock trading scandal, in which lawmakers are alleged to have illegally traded shares of fixed-line telecom companies.
Liu Wen-hsiung (
Though the three licensed fixed-line companies were formally registered in June, subscription rights to their stocks have been sold and resold for several months.
Some legislators have reportedly traded stock in the three companies or have brokered transactions. In addition, according to some reports, the three telecom firms have granted lawmakers options to buy company shares in exchange for support in the awarding of licenses.
Investigators began probing the stock trading after the companies' accumulated capital raised through the shares surpassed the amount of their initial capital investment.
The number of legislators involved in the trading remains unknown. Some reports indicate that a dozen legislators have been targeted for investigation, while other reports say less than 20 of the legislature's 221 lawmakers are clean.
Investigators are expected to face difficulties in finding proof of illegal dealings or violations of the Securities Exchange Law, Company Law or other laws.
Chu Jaw-chyuan (
"Judgments may need to be determined by evidence collected on a case-by-case basis," Chu said.
Chu said that because the three fixed-line companies are not yet listed on any of Taiwan's two stock exchanges, they can only raise capital from certain classes of investors.
Meanwhile, Yeh Chu-lan (
Chunghwa later this year will sell shares to the public for the first time, in one of Taiwan's biggest-ever share offerings.
However, its employees already own share certificates received as fringe benefits.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications said Yeh monitored trading in the certificates on the Internet at prices between NT$116.6 and NT$117.6 each.
Such activities "obviously violate related securities trading laws," she said.
Yeh asked officials at the ministry and the Securities & Futures Commission to investigate the matter. She also directed the results to be forwarded to prosecutors for further action.
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