Kuo Hua Life Insurance’s (國華人壽) shareholders yesterday approved a proposal to cut the company’s capital by NT$2 billion (US$60.8 million) before injecting NT$4 billion to alleviate immediate pressure of a takeover by financial regulators.
But the life insurer had yet to provide a timetable for the completion of the capital-raising plan by its shareholders.
The company’s original shareholders include Wong Da-ming (翁大銘) and his three siblings, who combined have a controlling 60 percent stake; Miramar Group (美麗華集團) and its related enterprises, with a more that 20 percent stake; and Lung Yen Group (龍巖集團), with a 5 percent stake.
Once the cash injection is completed, the life insurer’s working capital will grow from NT$3.01 billion to NT$5.01 billion, the company said.
A company executive who declined to be named rebutted reports by media that Lung Yen was interested in taking up a bigger stake by injecting NT$4 billion into the life insurer. He said Lung Yen representatives did not show up at yesterday’s shareholders’ meeting.
Kuo Hua does not rule out the possibility of planning on raising more capital to write off its losses, he said.
As of May, Kuo Hua had suffered a net loss of NT$55.9 billion following massive investment losses. The firm was required by the Financial Supervisory Commission to strengthen its capital structure before last month or face government takeover.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
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