Taiwan's National Audit Office (NAO) announced that seven state-owned enterprises in the country, active in power generation and transportation, accumulated losses of 106,7 billion new Taiwan dollars in 2012. In particular, Taipower, CPC Corp and Taiwan Railway Administration topped the league table among loss-making companies, having finished the year respectively with $62 billion, $33,8 billion and $9,7 billion in the red.
In Nao's sights is CPC in particular which, according to the audit body, should formulate a strategy to improve its performance. CPC attributed its poor performance to its habit of absorbing half of crude oil price increases, which reportedly translated into inventory losses. In total, however, the balance sheet of state-owned companies is not negative.
Taiwan's 26 SOEs generated revenues of more than 3570 trillion Taiwan dollars, with operating costs of 3.390 trillion and net profits of 113 billion. The profitability of state-owned companies has exceeded forecasts. The audit agency said the best performance was due to the central bank's investments in foreign currencies and bonds, which delivered better-than-expected returns in 2012. The central bank and 19 other divisions generated profits of 293,9 billion. The International Monetary Fund accused Taiwan of subsequently supporting energy-producing industries.
Attachments: China Post
