The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday impounded the headquarters of Ching Fu Group (慶富集團) at the request of one of the firm’s lenders amid allegations of a subsidiary’s financial mismanagement and involvement in a fraud scandal related to a navy contract.
The court took provisional legal ownership of the first six floors of the 10-story building on Fuxing Fourth Road and the firm’s partial land ownership of the site, the court said.
The action was taken to protect the rights of those to whom the firm owes money, the court said, adding that despite the impound order, the company’s employees could still freely go to work.
Photo: Taipei Times
Ching Fu Group spokesman Chi Ching-lung (紀景朧) said the firm remains operational and employees showed up for work yesterday.
Asked about the court’s action, Chi declined to comment, saying that he has limited knowledge of the case.
Taipei-based First Commercial Bank last month filed a civil lawsuit with the court, demanding provisional attachment of Ching Fu Shipbuilding Co (慶富造船) assets after the subsidiary allegedly defrauded nine domestic lenders led by First Commercial Bank into providing a NT$20.5 billion (US$682.9 million) syndicated loan using bogus documents.
The shipbuilder said the loan was for capital needed to build six minesweepers for the navy as part of a NT$34.9 billion contract it secured from the Ministry of National Defense in October 2014.
The Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office, which has been investigating the fraud allegations since August, suspects the shipbuilder used bogus documents to falsify capital increases required under the terms of the loan.
Separately yesterday, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said that it would terminate a contract with Ching Fu Shipbuilding and demand about NT$1.5 billion in compensation if the company is unable to meet a deadline for delivery of the next of 28 search-and-rescue boats it won the contract to build on May 30, 2013.
CGA Minister Lee Chung-wei (李仲威) said the contract would be terminated if the shipbuilder is unable to deliver the 14th vessel by Sunday.
Ching Fu Shipbuilding has completed and delivered 13 boats, and eight more are being built.
The original deadline for delivery of the 14th vessel was Nov. 10, but the shipbuilder asked for a 16-day extension, Lee said.
Lee, who expressed doubt that the deadline would be met, said that “once the time is up, we will proceed according to the terms of the contract and terminate.”
The coast guard would ask for NT$1.527 billion in compensation should it terminate the contract, Lee said, adding that it would take three to four more years to complete the project should it need to find a new contractor.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS