Finance Minister Chang Sheng-ford says the Ministry of Finance is opposed to selling a 37% stake in Taipei 101 to a foreign business group.
His comments follow on the heels of an announcement by one of the main shareholders that it had plans to sell its holdings in Taipei 101 to an overseas group. The shareholder is Ting Hsin International Group, one of the corporations at the center of the recent tainted oil scandal. The foreign business group is Malaysia’s 101 Properties Group, which is also in talks with small shareholders to secure management rights for the building.
But the finance minister told the legislature’s finance committee on Monday that Taipei 101 is a symbolic landmark for Taiwan. He said that it would therefore be inappropriate to allow Ting Hsin to sell its stake to a foreign business.
The proposed deal between Ting Hsin and 101 Properties Group will be subject to review and approval by the economics ministry’s Investment Commission.
The finance minister did not rule out the possibility of state-owned enterprises purchasing Ting Hsin’s stake in Taipei 101 if the deal with the Malaysian group does not go through. However, he said that Ting Hsin has yet to approach state-owned enterprises. The finance minister also said that the current asking price – which is three times higher than what Ting Hsin originally paid – is too high.