Polaris Securities Co (寶來證券), the nation’s second largest brokerage, yesterday appointed a new chairman, Lin Shau-dai (林孝達), to fill the vacancy left by Wayne Pai (白文正), who was found dead after an apparent suicide yesterday morning after being reported missing a day earlier.
The board of Polaris called a special meeting yesterday to put 75-year-old Lin, chairman of affiliated Polaris International Securities Investment Trust Co (寶來投信), in charge of the brokerage whose shares plunged 6.8 percent to close at NT$15.8, their lowest level since Feb. 12.
Peter Huang (黃古彬), president of Polaris Securities, told reporters at a press briefing that he regretted Pai’s death but assured investors that the tragedy would not affect the company’s operations.
Huang said Pai had called him after landing in Penghu on Wednesday and said that if he was no longer there, the company should hold a board meeting as soon as possible to elect a new chairman.
The securities company’s shares have plunged 31 percent since early May after prosecutors raided Polaris headquarters and detained Pai, who was suspected of irregularities. He was questioned by prosecutors on May 11 regarding the 2004 sale of Polaris International shares to the brokerage. He was released on bail of NT$20 million (US$658,000).
Polaris paid NT$899 million four years ago for 28 percent of Polaris International from 22 individuals, with 12 sellers related to the company’s management or directors, including Pai, a company official said at that time.
Polaris spokesman Wong Jian (翁建) attributed Pai’s death to media accusations that he bought a honorary doctorate degree from National Chiao Tung University.
“Pai valued his reputation more than his life,” Wong said.
“The allegations that he purchased the degree dealt him an excruciating blow,” Wong said.
The company filed a missing person’s report on Thursday, saying that Pai was suffering from emotional problems.
Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Vice Chairwoman Susan Chang (張秀蓮) echoed the observation.
Chang told a press briefing yesterday that the financial regulator was shocked at the sudden death of Pai, who appeared to have an outgoing, sunny disposition.
“The commission is deeply sorry about the mishap,” Chang said. “Pai made distinguished contributions to the nation’s capital market during his longstanding service in the industry.”
A self-made man, Pai, 55, founded the Polaris group that encompasses securities, futures, investment and trust, banking and property insurance operations, with a total workforce of more than 6,000.
The securities firm takes up more than 15 percent of the market share in the on-line trading brokerage industry, with overall net assets of more than NT$300 billion.
Chang praised Pai as innovative and forward-looking.
Polaris launched the first Exchanged Traded Fund in Taiwan in 2003 and its size grew 10-fold within a year.
Shares in Taiwan closed at a new high yesterday, the first trading day of the new year, as contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) continued to break records amid an artificial intelligence (AI) boom, dealers said. The TAIEX closed up 386.21 points, or 1.33 percent, at 29,349.81, with turnover totaling NT$648.844 billion (US$20.65 billion). “Judging from a stronger Taiwan dollar against the US dollar, I think foreign institutional investors returned from the holidays and brought funds into the local market,” Concord Securities Co (康和證券) analyst Kerry Huang (黃志祺) said. “Foreign investors just rebuilt their positions with TSMC as their top target,
REVENUE PERFORMANCE: Cloud and network products, and electronic components saw strong increases, while smart consumer electronics and computing products fell Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday posted 26.51 percent quarterly growth in revenue for last quarter to NT$2.6 trillion (US$82.44 billion), the strongest on record for the period and above expectations, but the company forecast a slight revenue dip this quarter due to seasonal factors. On an annual basis, revenue last quarter grew 22.07 percent, the company said. Analysts on average estimated about NT$2.4 trillion increase. Hon Hai, which assembles servers for Nvidia Corp and iPhones for Apple Inc, is expanding its capacity in the US, adding artificial intelligence (AI) server production in Wisconsin and Texas, where it operates established campuses. This
H200 CHIPS: A source said that Nvidia has asked the Taiwanese company to begin production of additional chips and work is expected to start in the second quarter Nvidia Corp is scrambling to meet demand for its H200 artificial intelligence (AI) chips from Chinese technology companies and has approached contract manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to ramp up production, sources said. Chinese technology companies have placed orders for more than 2 million H200 chips for this year, while Nvidia holds just 700,000 units in stock, two of the people said. The exact additional volume Nvidia intends to order from TSMC remains unclear, they said. A third source said that Nvidia has asked TSMC to begin production of the additional chips and work is expected to start in the second
US President Donald Trump on Friday blocked US photonics firm HieFo Corp’s US$3 million acquisition of assets in New Jersey-based aerospace and defense specialist Emcore Corp, citing national security and China-related concerns. In an order released by the White House, Trump said HieFo was “controlled by a citizen of the People’s Republic of China” and that its 2024 acquisition of Emcore’s businesses led the US president to believe that it might “take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States.” The order did not name the person or detail Trump’s concerns. “The Transaction is hereby prohibited,”
RSS