The board of China Steel Corp (
However, Chiang may not stay in the position for long as the government is gearing up to appoint former chairman Lin Wen-yuan (
The government is the largest shareholder of China Steel, holding a 22.6 stake in the company. As Chiang is an institutional representative appointed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the ministry can transfer the appointment to Lin without going through the board.
Lin is currently the chairman of Taiwan Cogeneration Corp (
Chiang took over Lin's position in October 2005 after Lin resigned amid controversy over a stock bonus of more than NT$40 million (US$1.2 million) he received as chief executive officer. Lin had said then that he would donate all of his stock bonuses to charity.
However, the administration supports a comeback for Lin given his strong influence in Kaohsiung, where China Steel is based.
By heading the state-controlled corporation, Lin is expected to help the Democratic Progressive Party garner more votes in next year's presidential election.
A trusted subordinate of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), Lin is active in political and business circles in Kaohsiung and played an important role in Chen's previous campaign activities in the south.
If Lin returns next month as reported, it will be the fifth change in China Steel's chairmanship in six years -- from Wang Chung-yu (
Chiang's reluctance to carry out the government's name-change campaign -- removing the name "China" from the names of local companies -- also likely played a role in his downfall.
Meanwhile, shareholders of China Steel yesterday also approved a cash dividend of NT$2.78 per share and 30 percent stock dividend.
With the demand for steel and iron expected to rise 5 percent, the company is expected to generate more profit this year, company president Chen Yuan-cheng (陳源成) said, citing statistics provided by the International Iron and Steel Institute.
The company posted after-tax earnings of NT$39.16 billion, or NT$3.56 per share, on sales of NT$177.66 billion last year.
China Steel's production was 9.95 million tonnes last year, up 2.6 percent
from 2005, Chen said. Sales also increased 4.3 percent to 10.22 million
tonnes last year, he said.
Shares of China Steel were unchanged at NT$39.9 on the Taiwan Stock
Exchange, trailing the benchmark TAIEX's 1.1 percent rally.
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
The prices of gasoline and diesel at domestic fuel stations are to rise NT$0.1 and NT$0.4 per liter this week respectively, after international crude oil prices rose last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to rise to NT$27.3, NT$28.8 and NT$30.8 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to rise to NT$26.2 per liter at CPC stations and NT$26 at Formosa pumps, they said. The announcements came after international crude oil prices
SETBACK: Apple’s India iPhone push has been disrupted after Foxconn recalled hundreds of Chinese engineers, amid Beijing’s attempts to curb tech transfers Apple Inc assembly partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has recalled about 300 Chinese engineers from a factory in India, the latest setback for the iPhone maker’s push to rapidly expand in the country. The extraction of Chinese workers from the factory of Yuzhan Technology (India) Private Ltd, a Hon Hai component unit, in southern Tamil Nadu state, is the second such move in a few months. The company has started flying in Taiwanese engineers to replace staff leaving, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named, as the