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.
Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves hit a record high at the end of last month, surpassing the US$600 billion mark for the first time, the central bank said yesterday. Last month, the country’s foreign exchange reserves rose US$5.51 billion from a month earlier to reach US$602.94 billion due to an increase in returns from the central bank’s portfolio management, the movement of other foreign currencies in the portfolio against the US dollar and the bank’s efforts to smooth the volatility of the New Taiwan dollar. Department of Foreign Exchange Director-General Eugene Tsai (蔡炯民)said a rate cut cycle launched by the US Federal Reserve
Handset camera lens maker Largan Precision Co (大立光) on Sunday reported a 6.71 percent year-on-year decline in revenue for the third quarter, despite revenue last month hitting the highest level in 11 months. Third-quarter revenue was NT$17.68 billion (US$581.2 million), compared with NT$18.95 billion a year earlier, the company said in a statement. The figure was in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$17.9 billion, but missed the market consensus estimate of NT$18.97 billion. The third-quarter revenue was a 51.44 percent increase from NT$11.67 billion in the second quarter, as the quarter is usually the peak
The US government on Wednesday sanctioned more than two dozen companies in China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, including offshoots of a US chip firm, accusing the businesses of providing illicit support to Iran’s military or proxies. The US Department of Commerce included two subsidiaries of US-based chip distributor Arrow Electronics Inc (艾睿電子) on its so-called entity list published on the federal register for facilitating purchases by Iran’s proxies of US tech. Arrow spokesman John Hourigan said that the subsidiaries have been operating in full compliance with US export control regulations and his company is discussing with the US Bureau of
Pegatron Corp (和碩), a key assembler of Apple Inc’s iPhones, on Thursday reported a 12.3 percent year-on-year decline in revenue for last quarter to NT$257.86 billion (US$8.44 billion), but it expects revenue to improve in the second half on traditional holiday demand. The fourth quarter is usually the peak season for its communications products, a company official said on condition of anonymity. As Apple released its new iPhone 17 series early last month, sales in the communications segment rose sequentially last month, the official said. Shipments to Apple have been stable and in line with earlier expectations, they said. Pegatron shipped 2.4 million notebook