The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday said that it is still waiting for SinoPac Financial Holding Co (永豐金控) to clarify its plans to sell off a US-based banking subsidiary, amid rumors of brewing internal strife at the embattled company.
SinoPac Financial has made little progress on its plans to sell subsidiary Far East National Bank (美國遠東國民銀行) to NASDAQ-listed Cathay General Bancorp (國泰萬通金控) as it has been unable to address the commission’s concerns, such as pricing and asset information related to the US$353 million deal that would net the company about NT$2 billion (US$65.92 million) in profit.
With the deal quickly reaching its expiration date at the end of this month, SinoPac Financial was able to avert severe breach of contract penalties by negotiating an extension to Sept. 20.
SinoPac Financial has been slow in responding to requests for clarification, the commission said, adding that its responses in successive follow-up filings during the review period were inadequate.
Market observers have said that a faction of company managers opposed to former SinoPac Financial chairman Ho Shou-chuan (何壽川) contributed to the impasse by submitting tip-offs to regulators and media outlets.
The faction had questioned the US$353 million sale price, as Far East National Bank was valued by reputable investment banks at about US$400 million, they added.
In addition, the terms of the sale did not factor in an estimated US$30 million in deferred tax credits, which could expose SinoPac Financial to a loss of NT$1 billion, market observers have said, adding that the deal could have been the reason behind the sudden departure of SinoPac Financial chairman Paul Chiu (邱正雄), who is to resign on Friday.
SinoPac Financial has been left in a bind by the internal strife, as selling the subsidiary would expose it to corporate governance violations, such as breach of trust, while pulling out of the deal would result in heavy penalties for failing to meet contract terms, market observers have said, adding that the commission could also face legal action from the US-based buyer.
SinoPac Financial has not shown urgency in completing the sale after receiving the three-month extension, the commission said.
The regulator reiterated that approval would be contingent on the company providing the missing information.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
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MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR: Revenue from AI servers made up more than 50 percent of Wistron’s total server revenue in the second quarter, the company said Wistron Corp (緯創) on Tuesday reported a 135.6 percent year-on-year surge in revenue for last month, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers, with the momentum expected to extend into the third quarter. Revenue last month reached NT$209.18 billion (US$7.2 billion), a record high for June, bringing second-quarter revenue to NT$551.29 billion, a 129.47 percent annual increase, the company said. Revenue in the first half of the year totaled NT$897.77 billion, up 87.36 percent from a year earlier and also a record high for the period, it said. The company remains cautiously optimistic about AI server shipments in the third quarter,
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
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