Inventec executives to return to face prosecutors

Inventec Appliances Corp (英華達), the handset maker known for its OKWAP brand, yesterday again denied any wrongdoing in an alleged insider trading probe, saying its overseas executives would return to Taiwan for the investigation.

"After stabilizing overseas operations and clients impacted by the charges, the related executives will return to Taiwan by the deadline," company chairman Chang Ching-sung (張景嵩) said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.

He added that company president Daniel Lee (李家恩), himself as well as other executives had to communicate with major clients on the case, which has affected the firm's credibility and aroused concerns in foreign investors and customers.

Chang filed the statement after Inventec Appliances held a meeting in Nanjing, China yesterday with clients to clarify the charges.

Neither Chang nor Lee was in the country last Thursday when prosecutors raided its headquarters in Wugu (五股), Taipei County, in connection with insider trading allegations.

Five individuals -- including spokesman Michael Chen (陳烈宏), deputy general manager Chuang Chin-tai (莊今台) and chief financial officer Ivan Tseng (曾慶安) -- have been detained so far.

The Banciao District Prosecutors' Office said it had already summoned Chang and Lee to return to the country before tomorrow, or else they would be arrested.

Inventec Appliances maintained it was "business as usual," and that Chang and Lee would return.

Chang also said in the statement that Inventec Appliances did not interfere

in the share trading of its high-level executives and their relatives, as it

was a personal matter.

But the company said it respects the probe and is willing to help clear up

any issues with the authorities.

Inventec Appliances is currently the biggest supplier of PHS (Personal

Handy-phone System) handsets in China, with a 30.9 percent market share,

after moving into the market in 2005.

Its shares rose 0.8 percent to close at NT$62.6 on the local bourse

yesterday.

Inventec is the latest in a string of listed companies under investigation

for insider trading, following Veutron Corp (力廣科技), a memory module and

scanner maker under Powerchip group (力晶集團), and BenQ Corp (明基).