Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday announced that Victor Hsu (許澎) would be its new chairman after Eugene Wu (吳東進) was suspended by the Financial Supervisory Commission and barred from the firm’s board until his term ends in June 2023.
It is to be the second time that Hsu has taken over a Wu post as chairman after he assumed the role at Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控) after Wu retired from that company in June.
“We would review Hsu’s qualifications and then decide whether to interview him in person,” Insurance Bureau Deputy Director-General Wang Li- hui (王麗惠) told a news conference in New Taipei City.
Meanwhile, the commission has rejected Jko Asset Management Co’s (街口投信) appointment of Kevin Hu (胡亦嘉) as chairman, citing insufficient documents, Securities and Futures Bureau Chief Secretary Kuo Chia-chun (郭佳君) told the news conference.
“The firm did not answer our request to submit Hu’s certificates of graduation, which are necessary documents to review Hu’s qualifications,” Kuo said. “This indicates that the firm is non-compliant.”
Hu said that the commission on Friday last week had harassed his employees by interrogating staff and searching its offices.
The commission conducted an on-site inspection that day, as Jko Asset Management failed to clearly explain its Tuofu Bao (託付寶) investment service, Kuo said.
“We intended to check whether the asset management company has good internal controls after its affiliates Jkopay Co Ltd (街口支付) and Jko Fintech Co (街口金融科技) launched a controversial service,” Kuo said, adding that the inspection was normal practice.
After several years flying high as Asia’s best Nvidia Corp proxy, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is increasingly vying with other artificial intelligence (AI) stocks for investor attention. Stock traders are chasing a wider array of beneficiaries as mainstream usage of AI creates demand for hardware beyond the most-advanced chips TSMC makes for Nvidia. Subthemes from the deepening memory crunch to advances in robotics are also luring bids. At the same time, investment caps on single stocks are pushing funds to diversify, while retail investors long familiar with TSMC through its US depositary receipts are being offered a broader set of
UNDER MICROSCOPE: Taiwan detained three people who allegedly conspired to buy servers in Taiwan and export them using fraudulent documentation, prosecutors said Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday urged Super Micro Computer Inc to tighten up on compliance after Taiwan detained three people this week for allegedly making fraudulent declarations about artificial intelligence (AI) servers made by its US partner. The development marked the nation’s first crackdown on semiconductor smuggling, which grew after the US slapped restrictions on exports of high-end chips such as Nvidia AI accelerators to China. Nvidia is “rigorous” in explaining regulations to all of its partners, Huang told reporters after arriving in Taipei. “Ultimately Super Micro has to run their own company,” he said in response to
TECH RELIANCE: Growth is increasingly reflecting an unequal K-shaped distribution, where technology sectors outperform and other industries struggle, an expert said Standard Chartered Bank has significantly raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth to 9.5 percent this year, up from 7.6 percent previously, citing surging artificial intelligence (AI) demand driving exports, semiconductor production and investment. The upgrade reflects a sustained AI supercycle that continues to fuel demand for advanced chips and technology infrastructure, which form the backbone of Taiwan’s exports, the bank said in a report this week. “We raise our 2026 growth forecast to reflect a much stronger-than-expected first-quarter GDP figure,” Standard Chartered senior economist for greater China and Asia Tommy Wu (胡東安) said in the report. Driven largely by a 35.3 percent
Two of Taiwan’s international carriers, Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), have retained the five-star airline rating awarded by international airline review organization Skytrax. Starlux was awarded the distinction for a second consecutive year, while EVA Air received it for the 11th straight year, Skytrax said in statements released yesterday and on Thursday last week, respectively. The five-star rating is considered one of the airline industry's highest honors and is awarded following professional audits of airline product and frontline service standards, Skytrax said. The ratings are based on in-depth assessments using unified global quality standards rather than customer review scores