Kuomintang Sells Off Media Business to China Times

Taipei, Dec. 27, 2005 (CENS)--Before the deadline set by the government requiring political forces to retreat from mass media, the opposition Kuomintang has decided to sell off its shareholdings in several media firms to China Times Group.

The package of the deal covers five Kuomintang-owned media, including China TV, Broadcasting Corporation of China, China Movie, Central Daily News, and China Daily News. They are all affiliates of the Huahsia Holding Co., Ltd. Of Kuomintang. The buyer is Rungli Investment Company of China Times Group. In addition to the payment of NT$4 billion, Rungli pledges to take over NT$4 billion of debt from Huahsia. However, under the insistence of Rungli, Huahsia will buy back Central Daily News and China Daily News at a cost of NT$300 million later on.

Huahsia Holding is 100% owned by Kuomintang. Huahsia and Rungli have already inked the agreement on Dec. 24 and completed the payment of securities transaction tax and the procedure for shares delivery. In the future, Kuomintang will no longer owns Huahsia.

In addition to China Times Group, other shareholders of Rungli Investment include Fubon Group and ASE Group.

Chang Tse-tsen, deputy secretary general of Kuomintang, pointed out that Kuomintang can obtain NT$5.8 billion of payment from Huahsia after the deal, which will be used to pay off its debt and severance pays for some workers at the KMT headquarters.