Polaris Securities Co (寶來證券), the nation’s second largest brokerage, yesterday appointed a new chairman, Lin Shau-dai (林孝達), to fill the vacancy left by Wayne Pai (白文正), who was found dead after an apparent suicide yesterday morning after being reported missing a day earlier.
The board of Polaris called a special meeting yesterday to put 75-year-old Lin, chairman of affiliated Polaris International Securities Investment Trust Co (寶來投信), in charge of the brokerage whose shares plunged 6.8 percent to close at NT$15.8, their lowest level since Feb. 12.
Peter Huang (黃古彬), president of Polaris Securities, told reporters at a press briefing that he regretted Pai’s death but assured investors that the tragedy would not affect the company’s operations.
Huang said Pai had called him after landing in Penghu on Wednesday and said that if he was no longer there, the company should hold a board meeting as soon as possible to elect a new chairman.
The securities company’s shares have plunged 31 percent since early May after prosecutors raided Polaris headquarters and detained Pai, who was suspected of irregularities. He was questioned by prosecutors on May 11 regarding the 2004 sale of Polaris International shares to the brokerage. He was released on bail of NT$20 million (US$658,000).
Polaris paid NT$899 million four years ago for 28 percent of Polaris International from 22 individuals, with 12 sellers related to the company’s management or directors, including Pai, a company official said at that time.
Polaris spokesman Wong Jian (翁建) attributed Pai’s death to media accusations that he bought a honorary doctorate degree from National Chiao Tung University.
“Pai valued his reputation more than his life,” Wong said.
“The allegations that he purchased the degree dealt him an excruciating blow,” Wong said.
The company filed a missing person’s report on Thursday, saying that Pai was suffering from emotional problems.
Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Vice Chairwoman Susan Chang (張秀蓮) echoed the observation.
Chang told a press briefing yesterday that the financial regulator was shocked at the sudden death of Pai, who appeared to have an outgoing, sunny disposition.
“The commission is deeply sorry about the mishap,” Chang said. “Pai made distinguished contributions to the nation’s capital market during his longstanding service in the industry.”
A self-made man, Pai, 55, founded the Polaris group that encompasses securities, futures, investment and trust, banking and property insurance operations, with a total workforce of more than 6,000.
The securities firm takes up more than 15 percent of the market share in the on-line trading brokerage industry, with overall net assets of more than NT$300 billion.
Chang praised Pai as innovative and forward-looking.
Polaris launched the first Exchanged Traded Fund in Taiwan in 2003 and its size grew 10-fold within a year.
Leading Taiwanese bicycle brands Giant Manufacturing Co (巨大機械) and Merida Industry Co (美利達工業) on Sunday said that they have adopted measures to mitigate the impact of the tariff policies of US President Donald Trump’s administration. The US announced at the beginning of this month that it would impose a 20 percent tariff on imported goods made in Taiwan, effective on Thursday last week. The tariff would be added to other pre-existing most-favored-nation duties and industry-specific trade remedy levy, which would bring the overall tariff on Taiwan-made bicycles to between 25.5 percent and 31 percent. However, Giant did not seem too perturbed by the
Foxconn Technology Co (鴻準精密), a metal casing supplier owned by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), yesterday announced plans to invest US$1 billion in the US over the next decade as part of its business transformation strategy. The Apple Inc supplier said in a statement that its board approved the investment on Thursday, as part of a transformation strategy focused on precision mold development, smart manufacturing, robotics and advanced automation. The strategy would have a strong emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI), the company added. The company said it aims to build a flexible, intelligent production ecosystem to boost competitiveness and sustainability. Foxconn
TARIFF CONCERNS: Semiconductor suppliers are tempering expectations for the traditionally strong third quarter, citing US tariff uncertainty and a stronger NT dollar Several Taiwanese semiconductor suppliers are taking a cautious view of the third quarter — typically a peak season for the industry — citing uncertainty over US tariffs and the stronger New Taiwan dollar. Smartphone chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科技) said that customers accelerated orders in the first half of the year to avoid potential tariffs threatened by US President Donald Trump’s administration. As a result, it anticipates weaker-than-usual peak-season demand in the third quarter. The US tariff plan, announced on April 2, initially proposed a 32 percent duty on Taiwanese goods. Its implementation was postponed by 90 days to July 9, then
AI SERVER DEMAND: ‘Overall industry demand continues to outpace supply and we are expanding capacity to meet it,’ the company’s chief executive officer said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported that net profit last quarter rose 27 percent from the same quarter last year on the back of demand for cloud services and high-performance computing products. Net profit surged to NT$44.36 billion (US$1.48 billion) from NT$35.04 billion a year earlier. On a quarterly basis, net profit grew 5 percent from NT$42.1 billion. Earnings per share expanded to NT$3.19 from NT$2.53 a year earlier and NT$3.03 in the first quarter. However, a sharp appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar since early May has weighed on the company’s performance, Hon Hai chief financial officer David Huang (黃德才)
RSS