Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC, 台灣高鐵) chairwoman Nita Ing (殷琪) stepped down from her post yesterday and an ad hoc board meeting elected chief executive Ou Chin-der (歐晉德) to replace her.
Ing, 54, who founded THSRC in July 1998 after winning the nation’s first build-operate-transfer contract to construct the north-south high speed railway two years earlier, said she hoped her resignation could help reverse the company’s finances.
“My career means nothing if more government participation can help the company run smoothly and profitably,” Ing said through THSRC spokesman Ted Chia (賈先德).
PHOTO: NICKY LOH, REUTERS
Chia said Ing announced her decision to step down at the beginning of the board meeting and the board named Ou to the chairmanship under his capacity as the legal representative of the state-run China Aviation Development Foundation (航發會).
The reshuffle, which took effect immediately, ushers in a new era for THSRC, one in which the government will assume a dominant role in deciding the board lineup and management.
The government has a nearly 40 percent stake in the company. THSRC has accumulated more than NT$450 billion (US$13.8 billion) in debts and is seeking a syndicated loan worth NT$390 billion.
Neither Ing nor Ou showed up at the unscheduled press conference after the board meeting. Chia said Ing would remain a board member representing Continental Engineering Corp (大陸工程), one of THSRC’s five founding shareholders, while Ou would serve as both THSRC chairman and CEO.
Last night, however, the company said in a stock exchange filing that Ing would also step down from the board and Continental Engineering would nominate a successor soon.
Chia said the company would call an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on Nov. 10 to elect a new board of directors and supervisors.
He declined to comment on reports that Ing resigned to ensure government support for the bank loan.
“The former chairperson made no mention of such pressure,” Chia said. “She did extend gratitude to all THSRC employees for helping realize the high speed rail project.”
Ou, 65, a civil engineer by training, will soon brief the media on how he plans to improve the company’s finances and operations, Chia said.
Ou joined the public service sector in the late 1980s and has worked for the national expressway engineering bureau, the public construction commission and the central government. In 1998, he was tapped by then-Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to serve as deputy mayor. He retained his friendly ties to Ma and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) after joining THSRC in 1996 at Ing’s invitation.
Ou has avoided reporters since news broke over the weekend that Ing would be stepping down. Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said on Sunday that Ing planned to resign.
UNPRECEDENTED PACE: Micron Technology has announced plans to expand manufacturing capabilities with the acquisition of a new chip plant in Miaoli Micron Technology Inc unveiled a newly acquired chip plant in Miaoli County yesterday, as the company expands capacity to meet growing demand for advanced DRAM chips, including high-bandwidth memory chips amid the artificial intelligence boom. The plant in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼), which Micron acquired from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion, is expected to make a sizeable capacity contribution to the company from fiscal 2028, the company said in a statement. It would be an extended production site of Micron’s large-scale manufacturing hub in Taichung, the company said. As the global semiconductor industry is racing to reach US$1 trillion
ABOVE LEGAL REQUIREMENT: The Ministry of Economic Affairs is prepared if LNG supply is disrupted, with more than the legal requirement of 11 days of inventory Taiwan has largely secured liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies through May and arranged about half of June’s supply, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday. Since the Middle East conflict began on Feb. 28, Taiwan’s LNG inventories have remained more than 12 days, exceeding the legal requirement of 11 days, indicating no major supply concerns for domestic gas and electricity, Kung said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. The ministry aims to increase the figure to 14 days by the end of next year, he said. While one or two LNG or crude oil shipments for May
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
RSS