Another Rescue Effort for 台灣高鐵

choi

Yu-Huay Sun, Bullet-Train Chief Pitches Share Sale as Taiwan Provides Bailout. Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Nov 17, 2015 (blog).
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/ar ... an-provides-bailout

Quote:

"Taiwan’s high-speed rail was at one point [before government rescues]  the world’s costliest public-works project that is privately built and operated. It has since become Asia’s most indebted listed infrastructure company.

"the bullet train has struggled to fill seats. Before the line opened it was expected to carry 145,000 passengers a day, but as of last year it was averaging 132,000. One factor could be its pricing: The fare from Taipei to Kaohsiung is about $50, far more than a bus ticket or the conventional rail service, which cost about half as much. * * * Discounts for off-peak travel should help the company raise its load factor to as much as 64 percent in five or six years, from the current 59 percent

"The state’s direct and indirect stake is expected to rise to 64 percent after the December placement, from 22 percent now. Government-assigned directors will dominate the board. The bullet train is effectively being nationalized.  'The fact that we’ll be state-owned yet operated by the private sector is a new challenge,' [台灣高速鐵路股份有限公司董事長  劉維琪 Chairman Victor] Liu said.