MOF Planning to Return to the Board of Waterland Holding

Taipei, March 1, 2011 (CENS)--In a reversal of the privatization policy for financial institutions, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) is planning to return to the board of directors of Waterland Financial Holding by securing 20% stake in the company and may obtain its management right by allying with private shareholders.

The move is being made on the eve of the reelection of the company's board of directors in June. With a 20% stake, the (MOF) will secure 2-3 seats in the company's 11-seat board of directors, making it necessary to ally with private shareholders, in order to have a controlling influence in the company's management. At present, Nice Group and the camp headed by Hung Shan-hsiung are two major private shareholders of the company, owning about similar number of seats. Another major private shareholder is Want Want Group.

The MOF will secure the stake by directing the eight government-owned banks to buy up 2-3% stake each in the company. The 20% stake is even higher than the 17% stake owned by the MOF several years ago before it divested the ownership, in line with the privatization policy then.