TAIPEI (Dow Jones) – Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. aims to refinance syndicated loans totaling NT$382 billion by the end of November to stem losses and reduce its interest repayments, Vice President Ted Chia said.

The company, which operates the NT$489.6 billion (US$15.2 billion) high-speed rail link between Taipei and Kaohsiung, Taiwan's second-largest city, has incurred losses totaling more than NT$70 billion since it signed the build-operate-transfer contract in 1998.

"The average interest rate on the new loans will likely be below 1.8%," company Chairman Ou Chin-Der said at the company's general shareholders' meeting Tuesday. "Not only we will be able to repay debt, but also obtain funds for future expansion."

The average interest rate on the company's existing syndicated loans is 2.6%, Chia said.