Although he triumphed in the boardroom war for the presidency of China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控), Angelo Koo (辜仲瑩) -- the second son of Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信金控) chairman Jeffrey Koo (辜濂松) -- has a lot to do to prove he's the right boss for the financial giant.
"To secure his throne, Koo had better increase his stake [in China Development] to some 25 percent, which will cost him over NT$40 billion," said William Lin (林蒼祥), a professor of finance at Tamkang University and a former board member of the financial-service company.
Lin said that Koo needs to organize a top-tier management team as soon as possible by hiring newcomers while retaining part of the company's existing financial staff to stabilize morale.
PHOTO: LIAO CHENG-HUI, TAIPEI TIMES
So far, the 39-year old Koo, who doubles as chairman of China Development Industrial Bank (
With full support from the Ministry of Finance, Koo will be given more power to take charge of the company's operations in preparation for a full takeover in three years, Lin said.
Koo's former colleagues were supportive, saying that he is a very capable business leader.
"He has made his father -- a senior banker -- very proud of him," said a China Development board member nominated by KGI Securities Co (
The board member, a venture capitalist and senior manager at one of Chinatrust's affiliates, has worked closely with Jeffrey Koo for years.
Others were willing to praise the younger Koo publicly.
"He is probably the most aggressive boss I've ever worked with," said Jeff Wang (王貞海), head of KGI's regional brokerage, who has worked closely with Angelo Koo for more than three years.
After graduating from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Koo plunged himself into the family-run businesses at age 29 and turned KGI's net assets from approximately NT$2 billion in 1997, when he took over, to over NT$20 billion today.
Wang said that younger Koo's policy-making style is very teamwork-oriented.
"He is highly respectful of professional opinions and fully authorizes employees to take charge. But he is very strict with employees' performance," Wang said.
Koo could be ruthless and bold in recruiting new talent -- at high salaries -- to replace poorly performing employees, he said.
Wang said the younger Koo is a very persuasive financial-talent scout.
"Good at portraying his vision, Koo can easily recruit almost anyone he is interested in hiring," Wang said, adding that the younger Koo should have no problem put-ting together a top management team at China Development in the near future.
According to the anonymous board member, Jeffrey Koo emphasized the importance of two key business principles to his two sons -- treat your employees well and refrain from cronyism.
The board member said the younger Koo will be able to work smoothly with China Development's government-appointed chairman, Chen Mu-tsai (陳木在), since he respects not only the professionalism, but also seniority.
In private, the younger Koo is a "shy" person, low-key and not very talkative, according to Wang.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”