David Lo (駱文仁), former vice chairman of E-Ten Information Systems Co (倚天資訊), and Wistron Corp (緯創) chief legal officer Michael Wu (吳重銘) were released on NT$500,000 (US$15,200) bail each early yesterday morning, after being called by Taipei prosecutors for questioning the previous night on allegations of insider trading.
Six others including E-Ten chairman Simon Hwang (黃杉榕) and president Wayne Ma (馬惠群) were released without bail, the Chinese-language udn.com reported yesterday, citing people at the Taipei Prosecutors’ Office.
Acer Inc (宏碁), the world’s third-largest personal computer vendor, yesterday confirmed that Taipei prosecutors searched its wholly-owned E-Ten, one of the nation’s leading handheld device makers, on Friday.
Acer chief financial officer Howard Chan (詹浩) said in a statement yesterday that Acer and E-Ten are not related to the investigation but would cooperate.
He said the investigation would not negatively impact on Acer’s business or financial performance.
He declined to elaborate on the details of the alleged case of insider trading, citing confidentiality amid the ongoing investigation, the statement showed.
FOUNDER FEELS ‘REGRET’
Acer founder Stan Shih (施振榮), meanwhile, told reporters yesterday that he felt regret about the suspected insider trading at E-Ten, the Chinese-language online NOWnews.com reported yesterday.
Shih was approached by reporters for comment on the case while he attended a multimedia show at the Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Hall 1.
On Friday, Taipei prosecutors led by Huang Li-wei (黃立維) searched 10 places, including E-Ten’s office and the residences of key suspects, the Central News Agency reported.
The report said prosecutors were looking for evidence related to alleged insider trading that involves Acer’s announcement on March 3 last year of a plan to take over E-Ten as the PC company aimed to enter the mobile phone business.
Acer said at the time that it planned to acquire E-Ten for NT$9 billion via a share swap and its offer represented a 22.5-percent premium over its closing share price of NT$55.7 that day. Shares of E-Ten were delisted from the local bourse on Sept. 1 of last year.
State-run CNA said Lo and other suspects allegedly bought E-Ten shares at prices of little more than NT$30 per share before Acer’s takeover announcement and in the following days gained tens of millions of dollars in profit by selling up to 600,000 E-Ten shares at more than NT$40 each.
Shiina Ito has had fewer Chinese customers at her Tokyo jewelry shop since Beijing issued a travel warning in the wake of a diplomatic spat, but she said she was not concerned. A souring of Tokyo-Beijing relations this month, following remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about Taiwan, has fueled concerns about the impact on the ritzy boutiques, noodle joints and hotels where holidaymakers spend their cash. However, businesses in Tokyo largely shrugged off any anxiety. “Since there are fewer Chinese customers, it’s become a bit easier for Japanese shoppers to visit, so our sales haven’t really dropped,” Ito
The number of Taiwanese working in the US rose to a record high of 137,000 last year, driven largely by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) rapid overseas expansion, according to government data released yesterday. A total of 666,000 Taiwanese nationals were employed abroad last year, an increase of 45,000 from 2023 and the highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) showed. Overseas employment had steadily increased between 2009 and 2019, peaking at 739,000, before plunging to 319,000 in 2021 amid US-China trade tensions, global supply chain shifts, reshoring by Taiwanese companies and
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) and the company’s former chairman, Mark Liu (劉德音), both received the Robert N. Noyce Award -- the semiconductor industry’s highest honor -- in San Jose, California, on Thursday (local time). Speaking at the award event, Liu, who retired last year, expressed gratitude to his wife, his dissertation advisor at the University of California, Berkeley, his supervisors at AT&T Bell Laboratories -- where he worked on optical fiber communication systems before joining TSMC, TSMC partners, and industry colleagues. Liu said that working alongside TSMC
TECHNOLOGY DAY: The Taiwanese firm is also setting up a joint venture with Alphabet Inc on robots and plans to establish a firm in Japan to produce Model A EVs Manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday announced a collaboration with ChatGPT developer OpenAI to build next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and strengthen its local supply chain in the US to accelerate the deployment of advanced AI systems. Building such an infrastructure in the US is crucial for strengthening local supply chains and supporting the US in maintaining its leading position in the AI domain, Hon Hai said in a statement. Through the collaboration, OpenAI would share its insights into emerging hardware needs in the AI industry with Hon Hai to support the company’s design and development work, as well
RSS