Lin Ming-da (林明達), the prime suspect in a case of alleged insider trading in Power Quotient International Co (勁永國際) shares, yesterday fought back by accusing the prosecutors in charge of the case of forcing him to make a false confession that he colluded with a senior financial regulator.
"Do not make me the victim of a dogfight between the prosecutors, the Black Gold Investigation Center and the Financial Supervisory Commission," he said.
Accusations
PHOTO: SUNG CHIH-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Lin, 42, has been involved in the stock market for 18 years. Chinese-language newspapers reported that he had short-sold 2 million shares in Power Quotient between Dec. 24 and March 15, raking in a profit of NT$7.68 million (US$240,000).
But Lin dismissed the reports yesterday.
In short-selling, an investor profits by betting that a stock will decline.
Prosecutors last week claimed they found a note in Lin's office suspected to have been written by Lee Chin-cheng (李進誠), the director-general of the Financial Supervisory Commission's Examination Bureau, which asked Lin to borrow money to buy Power Quotient shares for him.
No connection
At a press conference yesterday, Lin said he and Lee were merely acquaintances and denied receiving the note from Lee. He said Lee had nothing to do with the case.
Lin said he would soon make public critical evidence if necessary. He declined to elaborate on the nature of the evidence.
In response, Financial Supervisory Commission vice chairman Lu Daung-yen (
The commission would announce the results of the investigation at the proper time, he said.
Lu's comments suggest that the commission is toning down its language following Premier Frank Hsieh's (
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
Prices of gasoline and diesel products at domestic fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.2 and NT$0.3 per liter respectively, after international crude oil prices increased last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week snapped a two-week losing streak as the geopolitical situation between Russia and Ukraine turned increasingly tense, CPC said in a statement. News that some oil production facilities in Alberta, Canada, were shut down due to wildfires and that US-Iran nuclear talks made no progress also helped push oil prices to a significant weekly gain, Formosa said
MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,