■ Bank executives indicted
The Taipei Prosecutors' Office yesterday announced that it had completed a years-long investigation of illegal lending at Chung Shing Bank (中興銀行) and had indicted vice chairman Wang Chih-hsiung (王志雄), general manager Wang Hsuan-jen (王宣仁) and deputy general manager Chien Wan-san (簡萬三) for breach of trust.
Prosecutors asked for prison terms of 4.5 years for Wang Chih-hsiung, while seeking to jail Wang Hsuan-jen and Chien for 19.5 years and 24 years respectively.
The three were accused of illegal lending amounting to NT$12.6 billion (US$384 million) to six syndicates, including Taiwan Pine-apple Corp (台鳳), which caused the bank to suffer a loss of NT$9.7 billion in bad loans, Taipei Prosecutors' Office spokesman Lin Pang-liang (林邦樑) said.
Bank chairman Wang Yu-yun (王玉雲) and Taiwan Pineapple chairman Huang Tsung-hung (黃宗宏) were sentenced to seven and nine years' jail respectively.
■ New US products in Taichung
The commercial section of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taichung Importers and Exporters Chamber of Commerce are organizing the first New Products USA 2005 Catalog Exhibition in Taichung, the AIT said in a statement yesterday.
The event will take place on Sept. 20 at the Evergreen Laurel Hotel between 9am and 5pm.
■ NT dollar at 10-month low
The New Taiwan dollar hit a 10-month low yesterday, pressured by falling stocks and foreign outflows, dealers said. The local unit fell NT$0.059 to close at NT$32.833 against the US dollar on the Taipei foreign exchange market, on turnover of US$1.09 billion.
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