United Microelectronics Corp chairman Robert Tsao (曹興誠) is planning to leave his post next year in order to safeguard shareholders' interests from political influence, the world's second-largest contract chipmaker said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
Tsao's abrupt resignation came after the nation's financial regulators recently stepped up probes into alleged illegal insider trading linked to the company's belated disclosure of a request from the US stock regulator to restate its financial report.
UMC chief executive Jackson Hu (胡國強) has been designated to take over from Tsao in March, the statement said.
"After I quit, I hope any criticism from the public or related regulators will be targeted at me, rather than the company, the shareholders or our innocent employees," Tsao said in the statement.
Tsao said UMC had followed the international rules in stating the financial report and made no blunders, but rows at the Legislature over UMC's financial disclosure have misled investors. The defiant Tsao said that legislators have distorted the facts and he was extremely distressed about that.
"I personally feel sorry about his resignation," Financial Supervisory Commission spokesman Lin Chung-cheng (林忠正) told a press conference yesterday.
Lin said that Tsao actually did not need to step down from his position, adding that the high-profile dispute of the last few days had stemmed from the difference between both sides' "definition of significant information."
"We just want the company to treat all its investors impartially by providing transparent, fair and real-time information," Lin said.
The commission had said on Wednesday that it would investigate possible insider trading among some of the company's managers before a Dec. 14 restatement.
While selling shares at sensitive times "did not necessarily constitute unlawful activities," Lin said yesterday that "the commission will continue to review the event through the screening mechanisms of the Taiwan Stock exchange ... The commission will continue to do what needs to be done," he added, without elaboration.
In the statement, Tsao said he planned to tender his resignation to the board in a regular meeting scheduled for March next year. He will hand over the reigns to Hu to prevent the affair having any impact on the company's operations, and he will not sell his UMC holdings for two years after he quits, according to the statement.
Tsao had said in June that he planned to retire by June 2007 and had already tipped Hu to be his successor. His announcement yesterday, however, is not the first time Tsao has offered to resign.
At the beginning of the year, Tsao attempted to quit to divert attention amid a series of investigations into the company's alleged illegal investments in and technological support to Chinese chipmaker He Jian Technology (Suzhou) Co.
The Suzhou-based chipmaker proposed to offer a 15-percent stake in exchange
for UMC's past administrative aid. Investigators are still looking for
evidence.
“I don’t think Tsao’s resignation will hurt UMC’s fundamentals, or the
stock price, if the hand-over goes smoothly,” said Rick Hsu (徐禕成), who
tracks semiconductor industry for Nomura Securities Co Ltd in Taipei.
“I believe Tsao will still play an important role in formatting the company’
s strategies after he leaves the post,” Hsu said. Hsu said he would retain
RSS