China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控) said it would discuss the dismissal of its board director Daniel Wu (吳春台) at its next board meeting sometime this month, after the company was penalized earlier this week by the financial regulator for its noncompliance by the given deadline.
"The company will discuss the issue thoroughly and handle it properly at future board meetings," China Development chairman Lin Cheng-yi (林誠一) said when presiding over his first shareholder meeting at the company yesterday.
Lin took over as a representative appointed by the government in March from Chen Mu-tsai (陳木在), who was sacked for failing to safeguard state interests in the company's Taiwan International Securities Corp (金鼎證券) takeover bid.
The Financial Supervisory Commission said on Tuesday that it would overrule all applications by China Development Financial, including business expansion and investment plans, until the company follows the regulator's ruling by dismissing Wu from its board of directors and the boards of its affiliates for failing to avoid a conflict of interest in the hostile takeover activities.
China Development Financial, controlled by the Koo family, has been expanding aggressively in recent years, but has drawn increasing public criticism over the Koos' growing influence in the nation's financial sector. Regarding this, Lin told shareholders yesterday that, to his knowledge, the family's activities were legally compliant.
To help the company to implement corporate governance measures, China Development Financial also elected Liao Long-yi (廖龍一), former president of First Bank (第一銀行), as independent board director and Chang Chia-chu (張家祝), former Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications, as independent supervisor yesterday.
Also yesterday, state-controlled Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合庫銀行)
re-elected four board directors, including three representing the
government's 44 percent stake in the bank.
Taiwan Cooperative's union members called on the bank to safeguard
employees' rights and interests when negotiating with BNP Paribas Group
which plans to acquire an 8 percent stake in the lender.
Chairman Sean Chen (陳沖) declined to comment on the possible strategic
alliance and said that the bank would solicit shareholders' approval if
there were any such investment in the future.
The lender is planning to hold an ad hoc general meeting by the end of the
year, possibly concerning the rumored partnership, sources said. It will be
the first state bank to introduce a foreign investor if the deal is
approved.
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