Chunghwa Telecom, officially Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd., is the largest integrated telecommunications service provider in Taiwan,[1] providing PSTN, mobile phone, and broadband services.
History
Chunghwa Telecom was founded as a company on June 15, 1996 as part of the government's privatization efforts. Prior to this, it was operated as a business unit of the for over 100 years.
The company's common shares have been listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under the number "2412" since October 2000, and its ADSs have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CHT" since July 2003.
In August 2005, Chunghwa Telecom became a privatized company, as the Taiwan government's ownership was reduced to less than 50%.
The Directorate General of Telecommunications once exercised a monopoly on the telecommunications market in Taiwan. To make the telecommunications industry more competitive and improve service quality, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications began to promote "telecommunications liberalization" policy from the late 1980s, in which the telecom industry would gradually be opened to private industry operations. The liberalization of telecommunications, as well as the management and operation of telecommunications business as mentioned in the plan, aimed to achieve "separation between government and enterprises".