Chimei Innolux Corp (奇美電子), the nation’s biggest LCD panel maker, yesterday said Chimei Innolux chairman Frank Liao (廖錦祥) has resigned from his post because of health problems.
Liao’s resignation comes at a time when the company’s plan to borrow NT$40 billion (US$1.33 billion) from banks has stalled as bank executives became more cautious about lending because of the industry’s bleak prospects.
“This issue is very straightforward. Liao’s health is not good,” Chimei Innolux spokesman Eddie Chen (陳彥松) said by telephone yesterday.
Liao also resigned from his director position on the company’s eight-member board.
Chimei Innolux vice chairman Tuan Hsing-chien (段行建) also yesterday resigned from the position, but kept his position as Chimei Innolux’s chief executive officer.
“The board will nominate a new chairman probably next week at the earliest after Chimei Corp (奇美實業) comes up with its nomination,” Chen said.
Local plastics producer Chimei and Hon Hai Technology Group (鴻海科技集團) are the major stakeholders of Chimei Innolux after Innolux Display Corp (群創光電), an LCD arm of Hon Hai, acquired Chimei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子) last year. Chimei owns a 13 percent stake in Chimei Innolux, while Hon Hai holds about 8.96 percent, according to the firm’s Taiwan Stock Exchange filing.
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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