Taiwan Pulp and Paper Corp (TPPC, 台灣紙業) chairman Chien Hung-wen (簡鴻文) yesterday confirmed that he is to step down at the board meeting following an extraordinary meeting for shareholders scheduled for March 31, putting an end to a high-profile boardroom dispute.
Chien said at a press conference that he hopes to “pass the baton” to company president Yu Mei-ling (余美玲) in an effort to resolve an intense ownership battle at the 70-year-old company.
Chien’s family — which has two seats on the seven-member board with more than 20 percent stake in TPPC — is to elect a new director to fill the vacant seat.
Chien, who also serves as chairman of Mega Securities Co (兆豐證券), said his decision was made partly due to the Ministry of Finance’s concerns about his public image.
Mega Securities is the brokerage arm of state-run Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控). As a major holder of Mega Financial, the finance ministry has the power to retain or remove Chien from his position at Mega Securities.
Even so, board members siding with Yu are planning to oust Chien as soon as possible, as they have arranged a special shareholders’ meeting slated to take place on March 13.
Chien did not say whether he would attend the March 13 meeting, but at the conference, he criticized several board members, including board director Hsu Liang-yu (許良宇) and company spokesman Yu Chi-wei (尤其偉), for acting inappropriately in terms of corporate governance.
Meanwhile, Yu Chi-wei said the management has sent financial statements audited by accountants to Chien and hope the board can sign off on last year’s earnings results in the shortest time possible, as the company is at risk of being delisted from the local bourse for breaching compliance rules.
TPPC reported a net loss of NT$304 million (US$9.8 million) last year, with cumulative sales down 30.46 percent annually to NT$4.34 billion.
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