China Airlines (CAL,
Lee Yun-ling (
The appointments were made following China Aviation Development Foundation's (CADF, 中華航空事業發展基金會) announcement on Tuesday that a reshuffle would be made. The CADF owns 71 percent of CAL.
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES.
Voicing opposition to CAL's new management and policies, employees of the state-run airlines yesterday chanted slogans as the old and new corporate brass walked outside to announce the changes.
Chanting "we oppose industry outsiders leading industry professionals" and "we oppose non-transparent management procedures," dozens of CAL employees crowded the lobby of the company's headquarters.
Lee, the new chairman of the board, was a former air force pilot and 23-year veteran of CAL. He joined the company in 1970 as a co-pilot and worked his way up to chief of the flight training center before being transferred to CAL's Far Eastern subsidiary in 1993.
Tsung, 52, has an MBA from the University of Missouri and a 13-year career in the US, including work as the finance director of Powey City near San Diego, California.
Tsung denied media speculation that her nomination -- while lacking any solid aviation industry experience -- was the result of her political affiliation with leaders of the ruling DPP. She defended her qualifications by saying that the "CADF choose me for my solid management and experience in finance."
Commenting at a press conference after the announcement, both of the new leaders addressed the issue on everyone's mind -- safety. CAL has been dogged by safety issues, including an Airbus A300 crash at Taiwan's main international airport two years ago that killed all 203 people on board.
Last August, three people were killed when a China Airlines MD-11 jet flipped upside down and burst into flames at Hong Kong's international airport while attempting to land during a tropical storm.
"I will propose concrete management strategies and measures for improving CAL's safety record one month after I assume this post," Lee said.
Meanwhile, Tsung vowed to "improve the company's unsatisfactory safety record" and make the company an "internationally recognized carrier."
Recent efforts to improve the flight safety standards of the company have included hiring Germany's Lufthansa Technik AG -- a subsidiary of Lufthansa German Airlines -- to train its pilots and engineers in higher safety standards.
Meanwhile, outgoing president, Sandy K.Y. Liu (劉克涯), was appointed chairman of Taiwan Aircargo Terminal Ltd (華儲股份有限公司), a subsidiary of CAL. Former chairman Chiang Hung-I (蔣洪彝) is slated to remain a member of the board, according to company officials.
Shares in Taiwan closed at a new high yesterday, the first trading day of the new year, as contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) continued to break records amid an artificial intelligence (AI) boom, dealers said. The TAIEX closed up 386.21 points, or 1.33 percent, at 29,349.81, with turnover totaling NT$648.844 billion (US$20.65 billion). “Judging from a stronger Taiwan dollar against the US dollar, I think foreign institutional investors returned from the holidays and brought funds into the local market,” Concord Securities Co (康和證券) analyst Kerry Huang (黃志祺) said. “Foreign investors just rebuilt their positions with TSMC as their top target,
H200 CHIPS: A source said that Nvidia has asked the Taiwanese company to begin production of additional chips and work is expected to start in the second quarter Nvidia Corp is scrambling to meet demand for its H200 artificial intelligence (AI) chips from Chinese technology companies and has approached contract manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to ramp up production, sources said. Chinese technology companies have placed orders for more than 2 million H200 chips for this year, while Nvidia holds just 700,000 units in stock, two of the people said. The exact additional volume Nvidia intends to order from TSMC remains unclear, they said. A third source said that Nvidia has asked TSMC to begin production of the additional chips and work is expected to start in the second
REVENUE PERFORMANCE: Cloud and network products, and electronic components saw strong increases, while smart consumer electronics and computing products fell Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday posted 26.51 percent quarterly growth in revenue for last quarter to NT$2.6 trillion (US$82.44 billion), the strongest on record for the period and above expectations, but the company forecast a slight revenue dip this quarter due to seasonal factors. On an annual basis, revenue last quarter grew 22.07 percent, the company said. Analysts on average estimated about NT$2.4 trillion increase. Hon Hai, which assembles servers for Nvidia Corp and iPhones for Apple Inc, is expanding its capacity in the US, adding artificial intelligence (AI) server production in Wisconsin and Texas, where it operates established campuses. This
Garment maker Makalot Industrial Co (聚陽) yesterday reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue of NT$7.93 billion (US$251.44 million), down 9.48 percent from NT$8.76 billion a year earlier. On a quarterly basis, revenue fell 10.83 percent from NT$8.89 billion, company data showed. The figure was also lower than market expectations of NT$8.05 billion, according to data compiled by Yuanta Securities Investment and Consulting Co (元大投顧), which had projected NT$8.22 billion. Makalot’s revenue this quarter would likely increase by a mid-teens percentage as the industry is entering its high season, Yuanta said. Overall, Makalot’s revenue last year totaled NT$34.43 billion, down 3.08 percent from its record NT$35.52