After just 50 days on the job, Tatung Co (大同) chairman Lin Wen-yuan (林文淵) has been dismissed.
Lin made the announcement at a news conference in Taipei yesterday, saying that he “does not know exactly why myself” the reason for his tenure being cut short.
Lin said that he had “minor differences of opinion” with Tatung’s leading investor, Shanyuan Group (三圓建設) chairman Wang Kuang-hsiang (王光祥), who informed Lin on Monday last week that he would be replaced.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
“I asked him why. What did I do wrong? He said: ‘Nothing, but it’s now a different time with different circumstances,’” said Lin, describing a conversation with Wang.
When asked to name a point of friction with Wang, Lin said that Wang wants to be Tatung vice chairman.
“He mentioned it at the very first board meeting. I told him it was on the table, but we have to amend some company by-laws first,” Lin said.
“As the largest shareholder, Wang thought his suggestion should be accepted, but there are possible legal ramifications,” he said.
Lin said that he did not know who would take over at Tatung, but an announcement is scheduled for today.
His picks for Tatung president, Tang Cheng-jen (湯政仁) and chief financial officer Chen Ming-nan (陳明男), have already tendered their resignations.
The Chinese-language Mirror Media weekly reported that Lin’s choices for president were questioned by former Tatung chairwoman Lin Kuo Wen-yen (林郭文艷), who remains on the board, citing lack of experience.
Tang was an assistant professor of electrical engineering at Tatung University for 17 years before founding a start-up, SourceTec Co (思源資訊).
Lin Wen-yuan, who is also chairman of Eastern Broadcasting Co (東森電視), said that he had “given it my all” in his effort to turn around the beleaguered company after being made chairman on Nov. 2.
He was brought in by Wang after a group of activist investors led by Wang wrested control of the company away from Lin Kuo Wen-yen, the last representative of the founding Lin family at Tatung.
At a news conference last month announcing Lin Wen-yuan’s appointment as chairman, he and Wang promised that it would be “a new Tatung” and the end of years of boardroom drama.
However, the relationship between the two has been “irreparably ruptured” by arguing over Tatung’s management, reports have said.
“It is not as bad as that, but it might be difficult for us to work together in the future,” Lin Wen-yuan said.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”