The Sports Affairs Council (SAC) said yesterday it would assist Taipei Fubon Bank with financial losses incurred from running the sports lotteries according to the contract.
“Civil servants are obligated to observe the law,” Deputy Sports Affairs Council Minister Chen Hsiung-chung (陳顯宗) said. “We do not want to be accused of benefiting a certain company. We will do everything based on the contract.”
The council received an official request from the bank before the Lunar New Year holiday to accept a lower payment from the sports lotteries because revenues had failed to meet targets, Chen said.
The bank began the sports lotteries in May 2007. Under the terms of its contract with the government, the bank promised revenues of NT$33.6 billion (US$1 billion) from 2007 to 2008.
By December, however, its sales revenues reached just NT$13.9 billion.
Three banks bid for the rights to run the sports lotteries and Fubon had been chosen because it offered better revenues, Chen said. It was the bank’s responsibility to effectively market its product and attract customers to fulfill its obligations, he said.
“Although it has stated legitimate reasons that prevented it from increasing sales, such as the economic downturn, we still have to check if the contract allows us to accept lower revenues,” Chen said. “It would not be fair to the two banks who lost out otherwise.”
Chen said Taipei Fubon Bank could opt out of the contract, but it could not do so until it fulfills the terms specified in the contract. It must also continue the sports lotteries until the council finds a qualified successor to take over the operation.
The council will outline the administrative actions it will take on the issue today.
In a statement yesterday, the bank said it had maintained close communication with the sports affairs council and hoped that the council would help it sell more sports lotteries.
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) has been investigating nine shell companies working with Prince Holding Group, and the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office is seeking further prosecution of alleged criminals, a source said yesterday. The nine companies and three Taiwanese nationals were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Oct. 14 as Specially Designated Nationals as a result of a US federal court indictment. Prince Holding founder Chen Zhi (陳志) has been charged with fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding’s suspected forced-labor camps in Cambodia, the indictment says. Intelligence shared between Taiwan,
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
RSS