Chang Hwa Bank (
Chang Hwa's board approved the appointment in a regular meeting yesterday, the nation's seventh-biggest lender by assets said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) yesterday.
Julius Chen will replace Chen Chen-chao (
PHOTO: WANG YI-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Julius Chen will be on board as soon as the Financial Supervisory Commission's gives its approval -- possibly early next month -- Chang Hwa spokesman Miles Chang (張明文) said in a telephone interview.
Taishin Financial has a 25.5 percent stake and eight of 15 board members in Chang Hwa, while the government holds an 18 percent stake and four board seats.
However, the management change, which many believe will help accelerate Taishin Financial's acquisition of Chang Hwa, provoked strong opposition from the state-controlled bank's labor union.
Chang Hwa Bank Industrial Union staged a protest with hundreds of employees early yesterday morning prior to the board meeting to voice its opposition to the management reshuffle.
The union called on the Ministry of Finance and the commission to investigate the nomination and appointment procedures.
"We strongly question the legitimacy of the appointment in yesterday's board meeting with the suspended chairman Chang Po-shin (張伯欣) and a total of seven board directors, including four government representatives, absent," union president Tsao Ping-kun (曹炳坤) said.
The bank's Constitution gives the power to nominate presidential candidates to the chairman's post, Tsao said.
Julius Chen's nomination was made by Wang Wen-you (
Since both Kao and Wang are board directors representing Taishin Financial, the union said that the appropriate thing to do would be to wait until Chang resumes his post on Nov. 27 when his six-month suspension expires.
The union also questioned the the absence of four state-appointed board directors at the meeting, and said that that it suspected the finance ministry was in collusion with Taishin. This was a deliberate act of neglect in failing to stand up for state assets and minor shareholders' rights and interests, Tsao said.
Still, the labor union was tight-lipped about any strike action, saying that industrial action was a last resort.
In response, Deputy Minister of Finance Liu Teng-cheng (
Liu said directors Chang Ching-hsi (
However, Lin called in sick and Zhuang, a lawyer, was required to go to court, Liu said.
"Although all four government directors were absent, it did not affect the meeting as the government had already given its approval to the bank's personnel change, allowing Julius Chen to serve as president," the official said.
However, as a token of respect, the bank will not affirm Chen's appointment until the next board meeting when government directors are present. Chang Hwa vice president Hsieh Chao-nan (謝昭男) will temporarily fill the vacancy, Liu said.
additional reporting by Jackie Lin
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: The US company could switch orders from TSMC to alternative suppliers, but that would lower chip quality, CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), whose products have become the hottest commodity in the technology world, on Wednesday said that the scramble for a limited amount of supply has frustrated some customers and raised tensions. “The demand on it is so great, and everyone wants to be first and everyone wants to be most,” he told the audience at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc technology conference in San Francisco. “We probably have more emotional customers today. Deservedly so. It’s tense. We’re trying to do the best we can.” Huang’s company is experiencing strong demand for its latest generation of chips, called
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure