Chunghwa Telecom Believes That the Intended Repurchase Of Shares is Unlikely to Take Place Before the End of 2003 TAIPEI, Taiwan, Dec. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. (TAIEX: 2412, NYSE: CHT) announces today that the intended repurchase of 7% to 10% of its total outstanding shares is unlikely to take place before the end of 2003. CHT continues to be committed to distributing excess cash to its shareholders, as a means of improving capital efficiency and returns for shareholders. CHT intends to continue to explore means of effecting a share repurchase and in its absence will seek to maintain the historical cash dividend payout ratio of approximately 90% of its annual net income. About Chunghwa Telecom Chunghwa Telecom (TAIEX: 2412, NYSE: CHT) is the leading telecom service provider in Taiwan. Chunghwa Telecom provides fixed line services, mobile services and Internet and data services to residential and business customers in Taiwan. Note Concerning Forward-looking Statements Except for statements in respect of historical matters, the statements made in this press release contain 'forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual performance, financial condition or results of operations of CHT to be materially different from what may be implied by such forward- looking statements. Investors are cautioned that actual events and results could differ materially from those statements as a result of a number of factors including, among other things: extensive regulation of state owned enterprises by the ROC government and extensive regulation of telecom industry; the intensely competitive telecom industry; CHT's relationship with its labor union; general economic and political conditions, including those related to the telecom industry; possible disruptions in commercial activities caused by natural and human induced events and disasters, including terrorist activity, armed conflict and highly contagious diseases, such as SARS; and those risks identified in the section entitled 'Risk Factors' in CHT's Form F-1 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with its U.S. initial public offering. The forward-looking statements in this press release reflect CHT's current belief as of the date of this press release and CHT undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements for events or circumstances that occur subsequent to such date. CONTACT: Fu-fu Shen, Investor Relations of Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. Tel: +886-2-2344-5488 Email: DATASOURCE: Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. CONTACT: Fu-fu Shen, Investor Relations, +886-2-2344-5488, or , for Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd.

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