John Westbrook
OGJ Correspondent
TAIPEI, June 3 -- Taiwan's state-owned Chinese Petroleum Corp. said it will not meet its yearend deadline for its total privatization. In making the announcement, CPC Deputy Pres. Chiu Chi-hsiung said the reason for the delay is rooted in the inability to reach an amicable agreement with unions representing 16,000 company employees.
Union members strongly oppose the privatization, fearing wage cuts or job losses under private management. More than 2,000 CPC employees recently marched to protest privatization claiming that it does not make sense for the government to give up control of one of its most profitable operations.
CPC, worth a capitalized sum of $3.73 billion, has assets of $14.35 billion and generates revenues in excess of $11.48 billion/year.
