The more than three-month-long family tussle within the Shinkong Group (
Thomas Wu (吳東亮) finally agreed to his mother Wu Kuei-lan's (吳桂蘭) arrangements and relinquish the fiber polyester company's chairmanship to his younger brother Eric Wu (吳東昇).
In return, Thomas Wu received his family's support in an upcoming leadership reshuffle at Taishin Financial Holding Co (
"[The family has agreed] to end their disagreements in a conciliatory way ... to safeguard investors' rights," said Alex Tsai (
Tsai said Thomas and Eric Wu met and inked the written agreement in the presence of lawyers last Friday.
"The Wus express hope that investors will continue to support their respective businesses -- Shinkong Synthetic Fibers and Taishin Financial," the statement read.
Following the signing of the agreement, lawyer Lindy Chern (陳玲玉), who represents Thomas Wu, yesterday added that the brothers will immediately withdraw previous lawsuits and hand in the proxy votes each has received so far, which were solicited to secure the chairmanship of the financial-service company and the fiber maker.
Taishin Financial is slated to reshuffle its board on Dec. 3 while Shinkong Synthetic Fibers is scheduled to elect Eric Wu as its chairman in its board meeting on Dec. 20, Chern said.
Eric Wu, moreover, will resign from his position as vice chairman at Taishin Financial while "promising to respect the incumbent management team at Shinkong Synthetic Fibers after he later takes over the chairmanship from his elder brother," the lawyers said.
When asked if the Wus' family-run businesses have officially split up, Chern said that a family meeting, to be called by the mother in the near future, will gather the four siblings and dissolve the family squabble face-to-face.
Over the family meeting, the mother will reaffirm the four siblings' family-business territories. According to a statement issued by Wu Kuei-lan, her eldest son, Eugene Wu (
Second son Wu Tung-hsien's (吳東賢) territory will include Shinkong Spinning Co (新光紡織), Shinkong Insurance Co (新光產險) and Shinkong Investment Trust Co (新光投信). Thomas Wu -- the third son -- will head Taishin Financial and its subsidiaries, including Taiwan Securities Co (台証證券) and Taishin Bills Finance Corp (台新票券), while the youngest, Eric Wu, also a Taiwan Solidarity Union legislator, will take charge of the fiber maker.
The family squabble broke out in early August when Thomas Wu proclaimed himself to be the fiber-maker's rightful chairman despite being challenged by his younger brother, who was backed by their mother.
The younger Wu then petitioned the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which, in October, ruled him to be the lawful chairman with Thomas Wu vowing to dispute the ministry's ruling.
After each side filed lawsuits, Thomas Wu later received a court order, which denied Eric Wu's application for a preliminary injunction to keep his elder brother from taking the chairmanship.
The EU and US are nearing an agreement to coordinate on producing and securing critical minerals, part of a push to break reliance on Chinese supplies. The potential deal would create incentives, such as minimum prices, that could advantage non-Chinese suppliers, according to a draft of an “action plan” seen by Bloomberg. The EU and US would also cooperate on standards, investments and joint projects, as well as coordinate on any supply disruptions by countries like China. The two sides are additionally seeking other “like-minded partners” to join a multicountry accord to help create these new critical mineral supply chains, which feed into
Elon Musk’s lieutenants have reached out to chip industry suppliers, including Applied Materials Inc, Tokyo Electron Ltd and Lam Research Corp, for his envisioned Terafab, early steps in an audacious and likely arduous attempt to break into the production of cutting-edge chips. Staff working for the joint venture between Tesla Inc and Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) have sought price quotes and delivery times for an array of chipmaking gear, people familiar with the matter said. In past weeks, they’ve contacted makers of photomasks, substrates, etchers, depositors, cleaning devices, testers and other tools, according to the people, who asked not to
Japan approved ￥631.5 billion (US$3.97 billion) in additional subsidies to hasten Rapidus Corp’s entry into the high-stakes artificial intelligence (AI) chipmaking arena, ramping up support for a project widely regarded as a long shot. The capital is intended to bankroll Rapidus’ work for information technology firm Fujitsu Ltd, one of the initial customers that Tokyo hopes would get the signature endeavor off the ground. The new money raises the fees and investments that the government is injecting into the start-up to ￥2.6 trillion by the end of the current fiscal year to March next year, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and
The founder of Chinese property giant Evergrande Group (恆大集團) has pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and bribery, a court said yesterday, the latest blow for what was once the country’s leading developer. Evergrande’s rise was propelled by decades of rapid urbanization and rising living standards, but in 2020, its access to credit dramatically narrowed when the government introduced curbs on excessive borrowing and speculation. The company defaulted in 2021 after struggling to repay creditors. Founder Xu Jiayin (許家印), 67, known as Hui Ka Yan in Cantonese, was reportedly held by police in 2023, with Evergrande saying he had been subjected to
RSS