The debt will be guaranteed by Taipei Fubon Bank, Walter Pan, finance director at the Taipei-based utility, said by telephone Friday. The company sold NT$5 billion of bonds in April and NT$10 billion in June to state-run Taiwan Post Co., Pan said.

Taiwan Power, known as Taipower, said in December it expects borrowing, which includes bonds and bank loans, to total NT$138 billion in 2007, to help fund this year’s planned spending of NT$144 billion on power plants and grid. The company generates about 75 percent of the electricity the island uses and monopolizes transmission in Taiwan.

“The bonds are offered to the public this time,” Pan said. “We hope to diversify our fund sources.”

Taipower may sell more bonds this year, he said. Total sales this year “will be close to” the NT$50 billion the company has planned, he said.

The government owns 97 percent of Taipower. The utility has an Aaa.tw rating from Moody’s Corp., the highest for any Taiwanese company from the U.S. credit rating firm.

State-run Taiwan Post, also based in Taipei, has about NT$4 trillion in deposits, according to central bank figures. Taipei Fubon Bank is a unit of Taipei-based Fubon Financial Holding Co.

Subscribe to The China Post and save.  Click hereSharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Enter your comments - 800 characters max

Receive China Post promos

Respond to this email