The New Year’s Eve party at the Taipei 101 building will feature an even more spectacular light show and fireworks display this year than in previous years, Taipei Financial Center Corp (TFCC, 台北金融大樓公司) vice chairman Wei Ing-chiao (魏應交) said yesterday.
Wei made the comment after it was reported that the Tourism Bureau, the major sponsor of the Taipei 101 light show in the past two years, has withdrawn its sponsorship for the show this year because it had invested much of its financial resources into boosting tourism in areas hit by Typhoon Morakot.
Wei told reporters at an award ceremony for the Top 10 Taiwanese Global Brands that his group, which owns the tower, was very pleased with its investment in Taipei 101 and that “the New Year countdown party will absolutely not disappoint anyone.”
GLOBAL EXPOSURE
TFCC would organize the fireworks countdown this year and make it even more spectacular because it is an important celebration bringing international exposure to Taiwan, Wei said.
Asked whether the name of his family’s food and beverage business, Ting Hsin International Group (頂新集團), would be displayed at the show, Wei said his family preferred to keep a low profile.
Ting Hsin, which owns Wei Chuan Foods Corp (味全食品) in Taiwan as well as the Master Kong (康師傅) instant-noodle brand in China, started showing interest in TFCC earlier this year and acquired a 19.51 percent stake from China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控) for NT$3.735 billion (US$116.1 million) in July.
After purchasing stakes from other private shareholders, Ting Hsin is now the second-largest shareholder in TFCC with a 37 percent stake, while the Ministry of Finance is the company’s biggest shareholder with a 44 percent stake.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JOYCE HUANG
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