On Friday night, Shih Jun-ji (
Shih's resignation, which came only five months after he assumed the position, made him the third head of the financial supervisory body to step down since its establishment in July 2004.
"The turnover is way too frequent for such a crucial position," said Shen Chung-hua (
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
Such frequent shakeups could have a negative impact on the nation' financial policymaking and policy continuity, said Shen, one of the winners of the US Eisenhower Fellowship last year.
This could also lead to an unwanted situation wherein government officials are less willing to bring up policies of vision, as they may be easily blamed for every move they make, Shen added.
The Cabinet approved Shih's resignation after it came under heavy fire over the commission's policy turnaround and carelessness, which some believe may have contributed to the expanding troubles in the financial sector.
On Jan. 4, two member firms of the Rebar Asia Pacific Group (
The situation forced the commission to eat its words and take over the already troubled bank at midnight on Jan. 5, five hours after Shih assured the public there was no takeover plan for the lender.
Shen said Shih's handling of the crisis was flawed, probably due to lack of experience or incorrect information.
Nevertheless, as Rebar's financial problems is a longstanding issue, it will be necessary that officials involved be investigated to find out who failed to take action or who prevented the system from bringing the wrongdoers to justice, he added.
The incident dealt an additional blow to the commission, whose reputation had already been seriously dented by a string of scandals.
Last October, former commission member Lin Chung-cheng (林忠正) was taken into custody on charges of corruption. Lee Chin-cheng (李進誠), former director general of the commission's Examination Bureau, was sentenced to 10 years in jail for corruption in June last year.
Last May, the commission's first chairman, Kong Jaw-sheng (龔照勝), was suspended for jobbery in his previous job and was sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of corruption.
A series of proposed policies that were later shelved -- such as the second-stage financial reform to halve the number of financial holding firms, US-dollar denominated offshore stock exchange, lengthened stock trading sessions and anexit mechanism for stocks of petty prices -- have also put the commission at the center of controversies.
If the commission that oversees the nation's financial sector and capital markets cannot adjust its mindset and modus operandi, similar scandals will surely continue to occur, pundits have warned.
"As an umbrella body that regulates both financial institutions and public traded firms, the commission appears to have lacked the concept and mechanism of conglomerate supervision," said Charles Yeh (葉銀華), professor of Finance at Fu Jen Catholic University.
For instance, Rebar Group controls a conglomerate of companies including The Chinese Bank, Union Insurance Co (
The commission should establish a group profile containing all data on affiliate companies to get a broader picture and thereby make it easier to detect possible misconduct and enact damage control measures in the early stage of a crisis, Yeh said.
Strengthening communication and cooperation among parallel agencies within the commission and with other agencies is necessary, he added.
Yeh proposed a mandatory disclosure by all affiliates, perhaps coming in the form of an organizational chart, to help investors see through companies that have complex cross-holdings or an unusual number of affiliates -- all factors which, as in the Rebar case, can facilitate embezzlement and other offenses.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, booked its first-ever profit from its Arizona subsidiary in the first half of this year, four years after operations began, a company financial statement showed. Wholly owned by TSMC, the Arizona unit contributed NT$4.52 billion (US$150.1 million) in net profit, compared with a loss of NT$4.34 billion a year earlier, the statement showed. The company attributed the turnaround to strong market demand and high factory utilization. The Arizona unit counts Apple Inc, Nvidia Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc among its major customers. The firm’s first fab in Arizona began high-volume production
VOTE OF CONFIDENCE: The Japanese company is adding Intel to an investment portfolio that includes artificial intelligence linchpins Nvidia Corp and TSMC Softbank Group Corp agreed to buy US$2 billion of Intel Corp stock, a surprise deal to shore up a struggling US name while boosting its own chip ambitions. The Japanese company, which is adding Intel to an investment portfolio that includes artificial intelligence (AI) linchpins Nvidia Corp and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), is to pay US$23 a share — a small discount to Intel’s last close. Shares of the US chipmaker, which would issue new stock to Softbank, surged more than 5 percent in after-hours trading. Softbank’s stock fell as much as 5.4 percent on Tuesday in Tokyo, its
COLLABORATION: Softbank would supply manufacturing gear to the factory, and a joint venture would make AI data center equipment, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) would operate a US factory owned by Softbank Group Corp, setting up what is in the running to be the first manufacturing site in the Japanese company’s US$500 billion Stargate venture with OpenAI and Oracle Corp. Softbank is acquiring Hon Hai’s electric-vehicle plant in Ohio, but the Taiwanese company would continue to run the complex after turning it into an artificial intelligence (AI) server production plant, Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said yesterday. Softbank would supply manufacturing gear to the factory, and a joint venture between the two companies would make AI data
The Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robot Show, which is to be held from Wednesday to Saturday at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, would showcase the latest in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven robotics and automation technologies, the organizer said yesterday. The event would highlight applications in smart manufacturing, as well as information and communications technology, the Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robotics Association said. More than 1,000 companies are to display innovations in semiconductors, electromechanics, industrial automation and intelligent manufacturing, it said in a news release. Visitors can explore automated guided vehicles, 3D machine vision systems and AI-powered applications at the show, along
RSS