Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said company president Wang Jyh-chao (王志超) is to step down from his post, amid speculation that he is to play a greater role in parent company Hon Hai Precision Industry Co’s (鴻海精密) latest push into LCD panel manufacturing in China.
As part of Innolux’s management shuffle, the board of directors yesterday also approved the promotion of executive vice president Robert Shiao (蕭志弘) to succeed Wang.
Wang is to stay on as chairman, while Shiao will work as chief operating officer to help Innolux accelerate its global expansion, the Miaoli-based flat-panel maker said in a statement.
The personnel adjustment was to bolster the firm’s corporate governance practices, as well as cope with expansion of Hon Hai Technology Group (鴻海集團), according to the statement.
Hon Hai Precision is the flagship unit of the group. Innolux did not elaborate on Wang’s revised role.
The company also did not comment on recent speculation that Wang was tapped to help Hon Hai build a newly announced 10.5G LCD plant in Guangzhou, China.
Early this month, Sakai Display Products Corp (SDP) — in which Sharp Corp and Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) holds a stake — held a groundbreaking ceremony for a 61 billion yuan (US$882.6 million) project to develop a display compound that consists of a 10.5G LCD panel plant and a ultra-high-resolution 8K TV plant.
The 10.5G LCD plant, jointly invested in by SDP and the Guangzhou Provincial Government, is to produce 65-inch and 75-inch TV panels when it starts operations in 2019.
“Hon Hai needs to seek help from LCD veterans to build and manage the advanced 10.5G LCD plant in Guangzhou, as well as sell the panels it produces,” TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) LCD industry senior analyst Eric Chiou (邱宇彬) said on the telephone.
“Wang is likely to be involved in the broader LCD panel projects of the group, but it is more probable that Wang will play the role as a bridge between Innolux and Sharp in managing capacity allocation, or give a hand to market Sharp-brand TVs in different regions, such as China,” Chiou said.
Innolux makes 65-inch and 39.5-inch TV panels at its 6G and 7.5G plants, a complementary panel offering to Sharp, Chiou said.
With no major capacity expansion plans in recent years, Innolux has been working on enhancing its manufacturing efficiency and profitability by introducing automation systems, of which Shiao has been in charge, according to the company.
Innolux shares yesterday remained unchanged at NT$12.15 in Taipei trading, while the TAIEX dropped 0.04 percent.
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