The Ministry of Economic Affairs on Thursday asked Tatung Co (大同) to submit the minutes of a controversial shareholders’ meeting within five days as a dispute over the legality of its board election on Tuesday raged on.
Tatung has applied to the ministry to register its new board members, but the ministry cannot decide whether to approve it, as the company did not provide the minutes of the meeting, Department of Commerce Director-General May Lee (李鎂) told the Taipei Times by telephone.
The ministry on Thursday told Tatung to submit supplementary documents within five days or the ministry would return its application, Lee said.
Tatung could apply again, but it is supposed to complete the registration within 15 days after the board election, she said.
Shanyuan Group (三圓建設) chairman Wang Kuang-hsiang (王光祥), who leads a group of minority shareholders, on Thursday urged the ministry not to approve Tatung’s application, saying the company breached the rights of 27 shareholders by depriving them of their voting rights.
Given the controversy over the board election, the ministry would ask for the opinions of Tatung’s management, minority shareholders and other governing agencies, such as the Financial Supervisory Commission, Lee said.
If the ministry decides not to approve Tatung’s registration list, it would order the company to hold another election, she said.
If Tatung refuses to do so within a given period, its board of directors shall be discharged as their term has exceeded three years, according to Article 195 of the Company Act (公司法), Lee said.
“We will address the matter cautiously, as some issues are unprecedented, such as the company canceling the voting rights of dozens of shareholders who together own more than a 50 percent stake,” Lee said.
While Wang’s lawyer, Chuang Cheng (莊正), on Tuesday said that shareholders would apply to the ministry to hold a special shareholders’ meeting to defend their rights, Lee said the ministry has not received their application.
Three of Tatung’s shareholders, which also are subsidiaries of Shanyuan Group, applied to the ministry to hold a special meeting to elect new board members as they did not agree with the firm’s decision not to distribute any cash dividend, but the ministry rejected their application, saying it was not necessary, Lee said.
“This time, we will review the case more thoroughly,” she said.
“While Tatung claimed some shareholders used money from other Chinese investors to buy Tatung shares, no shareholder would admit that,” Lee said.
If shareholders holding a combined 50 percent stake for more than three months plan to hold a special meeting, they could convene a meeting without the ministry’s approval, she added.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) secured a record 70.2 percent share of the global foundry business in the second quarter, up from 67.6 percent the previous quarter, and continued widening its lead over second-placed Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said on Monday. TSMC posted US$30.24 billion in sales in the April-to-June period, up 18.5 percent from the previous quarter, driven by major smartphone customers entering their ramp-up cycle and robust demand for artificial intelligence chips, laptops and PCs, which boosted wafer shipments and average selling prices, TrendForce said in a report. Samsung’s sales also grew in the second quarter, up
LIMITED IMPACT: Investor confidence was likely sustained by its relatively small exposure to the Chinese market, as only less advanced chips are made in Nanjing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) saw its stock price close steady yesterday in a sign that the loss of the validated end user (VEU) status for its Nanjing, China, fab should have a mild impact on the world’s biggest contract chipmaker financially and technologically. Media reports about the waiver loss sent TSMC down 1.29 percent during the early trading session yesterday, but the stock soon regained strength and ended at NT$1,160, unchanged from Tuesday. Investors’ confidence in TSMC was likely built on its relatively small exposure to the Chinese market, as Chinese customers contributed about 9 percent to TSMC’s revenue last
LOOPHOLES: The move is to end a break that was aiding foreign producers without any similar benefit for US manufacturers, the US Department of Commerce said US President Donald Trump’s administration would make it harder for Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc to ship critical equipment to their chipmaking operations in China, dealing a potential blow to the companies’ production in the world’s largest semiconductor market. The US Department of Commerce in a notice published on Friday said that it was revoking waivers for Samsung and SK Hynix to use US technologies in their Chinese operations. The companies had been operating in China under regulations that allow them to import chipmaking equipment without applying for a new license each time. The move would revise what is known
UNCERTAINTY: A final ruling against the president’s tariffs would upend his trade deals and force the government to content with billions of dollars in refunds The legal fight over US President Donald Trump’s global tariffs is deepening after a federal appeals court ruled the levies were issued illegally under an emergency law, extending the chaos in global trade. A 7-4 decision by a panel of judges on Friday was a major setback for Trump, even as it gives both sides something to boast about. The majority upheld a May ruling by the Court of International Trade that the tariffs were illegal. However, the judges left the levies intact while the case proceeds, as Trump had requested, and suggested that any injunction could potentially be narrowed to apply
RSS