Ministry takes First Financial board

As planned, the Ministry of Finance yesterday won an absolute majority of 12 seats on the 15-member board of the state-controlled First Financial Holding Co (第一金控), the nation's fifth-largest financial group by assets.

The 12 government-appointed board directors include 10 seats that represent the ministry and two seats that represent the fully state-owned Bank of Taiwan (台灣銀行), according to a company statement filed with the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.

The remaining three seats went to private shareholder representatives, two of whom are supporters of the government camp.

Vice Minister of Finance Gordon Chen (陳樹) secured the most votes during an extraordinary shareholders meeting yesterday.

Chen will represent the ministry in sitting on First Financial's board during the transitional stage before the chairman is elected within 15 days of the shareholders meeting, said a ministry official on Tuesday night who would not be named.

But on whether Chen would become a dark horse to lead the financial company, the official said: "We can't see it now, but nothing is impossible."

The most likely candidates for the drawn-out vacant chairmanship include Tsai Jer-shyong (蔡哲雄), the chairman of Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行), and Hsu Teh-nan (許德南), president of Hua Nan Financial Holding Co (華南金控).

Meanwhile, First Financial's banking unit First Commercial Bank (第一銀行) plans to sell a stake in the government-owned Taiwan Business Bank (台灣企銀), becoming the third government-controlled lender to propose a divestment in less than a week.

First Commercial will sell about 207 million shares in Taiwan Business, representing a 4.8 percent stake in the smaller rival, First Commercial said in a statement to the stock exchange on Tuesday.

Chang Hwa Commercial Bank (彰化銀行) said last Friday that it plans to sell all of its 290 million shares, or a 6.8 percent stake, in Taiwan Business, while Hua Nan Financial Holdings Co (華南金控) announced on Monday that its banking unit plans to sell a 3.7 percent stake in Taiwan Business.