The Wei (魏) family, which founded and owns the discredited Ting Hsin International Group (頂新國際集團), yesterday was urged to withdraw from the management of the Taipei Financial Center Corp (TFCC, 台北金融大樓公司), which operates Taipei 101.
The call came from Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-ford (張盛和) ahead of today’s meeting of the board of directors and supervisors of TFCC.
The Ting Hsin group, a huge food enterprise that has also expanded into other industries, such as real estate and telecommunications, is the largest private TFCC shareholder, with a 37.17 percent stake, while government-controlled financial institutes hold a 44.35 percent stake.
Ting Hsin has been implicated in a recent spate of food scares involving tainted oil, sparking public outcry and a joint boycott of the business group.
Chang suggested that the Wei family, which holds five of the 13 seats on TFCC’s board of directors, step down to protect the image of the financial center.
The government has six seats on the TFCC board, while Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) and CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控) hold one each.
CTBC Financial, which has a 7.73 percent stake in TFCC, said it does not intend to sell its shares and plans to support whatever decision the governmental shareholders make.
Cathay Financial, which holds a 7.73 percent stake, declined to comment, except to say that it would not auction its shares.
Meanwhile, the Ting Hsin group, known for its flagship food brand Wei Chuan (味全) and instant noodle brand Master Kong (康師傅), is expected to withdraw from the board of Wei Chuan Foods Corp (味全食品) by the middle of next month.
Former Wei Chuan Foods chairman Wei Ying-chun (魏應充) resigned on Oct. 12 after two other firms which he also heads were implicated in a food scandal.
Wei on Tuesday last week was indicted on charges of fraud, forgery and food-related regulatory violations for his role in an adulterated oil scandal that erupted in October last year.
Ting Hsin has said the Wei family, which is from Changhua County, plans to withdraw completely from Wei Chuan’s management at the company’s upcoming board meeting.
One of Ting Hsin’s subsidiaries, Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp (康師傅控股), on Sunday said on its official Web site that Wei Chuan Foods is no longer authorized to produce or sell instant noodles in Taiwan under the Master Kong brand.
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