After a four-month-long family squabble, the board of Shinkong Synthetic Fibers Corp (新光人纖), a polyester subsidiary under the Shinkong Group (新光集團), yesterday finally elected Eric Wu (吳東昇) as chairman.
"The chairmanship will be officially transferred to Eric Wu [from his elder brother Thomas Wu (吳東亮)] in the next few days," said Alex Tsai (蔡欽源), an attorney who represents Eric Wu.
While the company's chairmanship battle has ended, feuding has continued over the polyester subsidiary's board. A reshuffle failed on Monday after Thomas Wu refused to relinquish his proxy votes to his younger brother, as previously agreed. Eric Wu put the blame on Thomas Wu in a written statement yesterday.
"To respect our agreement, I had previously relinquished my proxy votes [at Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控), which Thomas Wu chairs] to my elder brother. But, he failed to relinquish his [proxy votes at the fiber maker] to me in return," the statement read.
According to Tsai, Thomas Wu claims he controls over 39 percent of the fiber company and, therefore, aims to take up four of the seven board seats.
But Eric Wu insisted in holding a majority on the board after Thomas Wu agreed to throw his full support behind his chairmanship, Tsai said.
Out of the 39 percent stake that Thomas Wu claims he owns, at least 27 percent belongs to the family instead of Wu himself, Tsai said.
The disagreement is expected to rekindle another boardroom fight between the two brothers in June when the incumbent board's tenure ends.
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