hunghwa Telecom was founded as a company on June 15, 1996 as part of the Republic of China government's privatisation efforts. Prior to this, it operated as a business unit of the Directorate General of Telecommunications 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 privatised company, as the Taiwan government’s ownership was reduced to less than 50%.