Bowing to government pressure, business tycoon Liu Tai-ying (劉泰英) yesterday stepped down as chairman at both China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控) and China Development Industrial Bank (開發工銀).
"For the sake of company stability, I decided to resign from the chairmanship starting Monday," Liu said in a written statement released by China Development after its board meeting yesterday.
"But I flatly deny all the 12 criminal charges against me and hope my name will be soon cleared," he added.
Diana Chen (陳敏薰), who was acting chairman while Liu was in detention during the investigation into his case, will take over the position permanently on Monday.
Benny Hu (胡定吾), another managing director on the company's board, will head subsidiary China Development Industrial Bank.
Chen said she would do her best to fill Liu's shoes.
"I'll do my best to attain the biggest benefits for shareholders," 33-year-old Chen told reporters yesterday morning, while expressing her thanks for the company's support.
Hu's return to the helm of the bank signifies his comeback after being removed in head-to-head competition with Liu for the chairmanship two years ago.
He said that the media was to blame for having portraying the relationship between the two as hostile and hoped to "let bygones be bygones."
The 54-year-old Hu previously served as president of the bank for eight years before taking up his current position as president of China Development Industrial Asset Management Corp (開發資產管理公司).
His past experience with the bank appeared to win him his old job back since Liu told Hu, before yesterday's board meeting, that he would be the best candidate to take over the chairmanship at the bank.
Liu, however, yesterday retained his seat on the company's board, angering the Ministry of Finance.
Vice Minister of Finance Susan Chang (
In response, China Development spokeswoman Grace Fang (方鳳山) yesterday said, "Liu didn't know the ministry wants him to quit the board."
Following Liu's resignation, shares of China Development yesterday surged by their daily limit, or 6.9 percent, to close at NT$14.7.
"Liu's ouster lifts all the burden and pressure on the company, giving a boost to the company's shares," said George Wu (吳裕良), a Taipei-based analyst with Primasia Securities Co.
Wu, however, yesterday said that the company's share surge may be short-lived since it will take time for the new Chen-Hu leadership to move forward.
"Hu is experienced, but Chen is a novice and needs time to build up her management reputation," he added.
Wu, moreover, expressed concern over Chen's and Hu's complicated political connections that he argued may stymie the company's future performance.
He added that China Development's future lies in its development of core businesses including overseas investments and expansion of its niche market as an industrial bank to attract foreign capital.
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