China Television Co (CTV, 中視) yesterday decided to appeal to the courts against the Securities and Futures' Investors Protection Cen-ter's provisional seizure of its two buildings over the Procomp Infor-matics Co (博達科技) scandal.
"Like all other investors, CTV is also a victim of Procomp Informatics' default," CTV vice president Chen Jiu (陳車) told a press conference at the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
CTV -- the majority of whose shares are held by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-owned Hua Hsia Investment Holding Co (華夏投資) -- saw its shares open limit down yesterday as investors weighed possible links to Procomp. The shares closed 7 percent lower at NT$10.6.
Chen said that CTV chairwoman Cheng Su-ming (鄭淑敏), who served on the Procomp supervisory board, committed no wrongdoing as an outside supervisor and therefore, CTV shouldn't be punished.
Chen urged the center to safeguard the rights of CTV's investors while seeking compensation for Procomp investors.
Accompanied by judges, center officials on Monday seized two CTV buildings worth NT$2 billion as part of their efforts to offset some of the NT$3.3 billion in claims filed by Procomp investors. The center filed a lawsuit against 19 members of Procomp's management, including Procomp chairwoman Sophia Yeh (葉素菲) and Cheng.
Although CTV has already used the two buildings as collateral for NT$1.6 billion in loans, center officials believe the buildings' remaining net worth of NT$400 million can offset some claims.
In addition to trying to get the seizure overturned, CTV will also seek a court order, requesting the center to open court trials in 20 days in order to minimize any negative impact the seizure might have on its short-term liquidity, Chen said.
Netherlands-based semiconductor equipment supplier ASML Holding NV yesterday said that it is planning to hire an additional 1,000 people in Taiwan this year in response to growing demand from clients. ASML had previously planned to recruit 600 people this year, but that the plan has been adjusted upward, ASML vice president and ASML Taiwan general manager Grace Wang (汪佳慧) told reporters. ASML has a workforce of more than 4,500 in Taiwan, accounting for about 10 percent of its global total, Wang said. This year’s recruitment campaign would focus on adding people in the customer support, manufacturing and supply chain domains to assist ASML
UNDER MICROSCOPE: Taiwan detained three people who allegedly conspired to buy servers in Taiwan and export them using fraudulent documentation, prosecutors said Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday urged Super Micro Computer Inc to tighten up on compliance after Taiwan detained three people this week for allegedly making fraudulent declarations about artificial intelligence (AI) servers made by its US partner. The development marked the nation’s first crackdown on semiconductor smuggling, which grew after the US slapped restrictions on exports of high-end chips such as Nvidia AI accelerators to China. Nvidia is “rigorous” in explaining regulations to all of its partners, Huang told reporters after arriving in Taipei. “Ultimately Super Micro has to run their own company,” he said in response to
Nvidia Corp yesterday announced that CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) would attend an employee meeting in Taipei tomorrow to celebrate the launch of the company’s Taiwan headquarters project. Huang would attend a gathering at the site of Nvidia’s planned headquarters in Beitou Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區), the company said in a statement. After arriving in Taiwan on Saturday last week, Huang told reporters that he plans to meet with Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), and would attend the groundbreaking ceremony for Nvidia’s Taiwan headquarters tomorrow. Nvidia has not yet applied
Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) today unveiled a long-haul network expansion plan at a shareholders’ meeting in Taipei, including direct flights to Barcelona, Spain, and Zurich, Switzerland, as well as a service connecting Taipei, Sydney and New Zealand. Starlux is to become the first Taiwanese carrier to offer non-stop services to the two European cities, while the inaugural oceanic route is expected to expand transit opportunities within the Australia-New Zealand market, Starlux said. Flight services to Chicago, Dallas, Washington and New York are under evaluation, the airline added. Prior to the shareholders’ meeting, the airline earlier this year announced that it would be