Posted on August 12, 2021
TIPC says limited OOCL, COSCO stakes received government approval
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The state-run operator of Taiwan’s ports denied reports Tuesday (Aug. 10) that Chinese interests had too much control over the country’s largest harbor, Kaohsiung.
A member of the Kaohsiung City Council had wondered whether investments by Chinese and Hong Kong interests in the ownership of piers amounted to Chinese control, but the Taiwan International Ports Corporation said the investments had been approved by government bodies and were thus legal, the Liberty Times reported.
Shipping company OOCL was leasing piers No. 65 and No. 66, while China COSCO Shipping had a stake in a company holding 30% in a container pier, the report said. The latter used a closed South Korean system to load and offload cargo, meaning no confidential data could be leaked to China, according to TIPC.
The state-run port operator emphasized that the Ministry of Transportation and the Investment Commission at the Ministry of Economic Affairs had both reviewed and approved the harbor investments.
OOCL’s lease over the two piers lasted from 2009 until the end of Sept. 2024, while the COSCO-related project, launched in 2012, still had a Taiwanese company as its majority shareholder, TIPC said.
