Taiwan Invites Stake in China Shipbuilding

The Taiwan Government is inviting bids for a majority stake in China Shipbuilding Corp, the island’s biggest shipbuilder, to help the company become more competitive and raise funds for public spending, according to a Bloomburg report.

The Government aims to sell a stake of between 51 per cent and 66 per cent in the company, the shipbuilder said in a statement published in Taipei’s Commercial Times. The stake offered includes three billion new shares.

The planned sale will release the company from policies and regulations that have constrained state-run companies, China Shipbuilding said in the prospectus to investors. Reducing state ownership to less than 50 per cent frees companies from having lawmakers review their budgets and from the Government’s management control.

State-run utility Taiwan Power Co hasn’t raised electricity fees for more than 20 years because of government opposition.

Companies or individuals interested in buying China Shipbuilding shares should submit bids before October 17, the statement said.

Investors from China and those companies in which mainland Chinese have stakes are barred from bidding. China Shipbuilding, based in Taiwan’s largest port Kaohsiung, has two shipyards and makes about 2 per cent of the world’s ships, according to the prospectus.