Next Media Group’s (壹傳媒集團) deal to sell its media outlets in Taiwan may run aground after the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday voiced its strong objection to financial holding firms controlling media companies.
Jeffrey Koo Jr (辜仲諒), the eldest son of Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信金控) founder and chairman Jeffery Koo (辜濂松), and related parties of Chinatrust Financial, cannot have control over companies in both sectors, said Jean Chiu (邱淑貞), deputy director-general of the commission’s Banking Bureau, citing the principle of “separation of banking and commerce.”
“Koo Jr and family will have to reach a decision very soon detailing how they intend to uphold the principle,” Chiu said by telephone.
Last month, Koo Jr inked a memorandum of understanding with Next Media Group to buy the Hong Kong-listed firm’s Chinese-language Apple Daily, Taiwan Sharp Daily, Next Magazine and Next TV for NT$17.5 billion (US$600 million).
The financial regulator made known its stance after Koo Jr, chairman of the Chinatrust Charity Foundation, paid a visit to the commission earlier yesterday to resolve potential regulatory resistance.
Koo Jr, who has teamed up with Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團) chairman William Wong (王文淵) and a Singapore-based private equity fund in the buyout attempt, is expected to hold an investment meeting today and is scheduled to sign a definitive agreement, as well as all other necessary legal documentation, with Next Media on Saturday.
“The commission will adopt a strict reading of the laws governing financial holding companies and qualifications for major shareholders to uphold the principle of separation [of banking and commerce] and prevent a concentration of power,” Chiu said.
While Koo Jr and his father own only 7 percent of Chinatrust Financial, lower than the 10 percent regulatory threshold to be classified as “major shareholders,” the Koo family and its related parties actually have majority control of the conglomerate’s boardroom, Chiu said.
It is therefore inappropriate if the same parties also control, operate, or represent media firms because it would render the nation’s financial stability vulnerable in the event of a scandal or cyclical volatility, she said.
“The Koo family must address those concerns,” Chiu said. “Assurance by Chinatrust Financial that it will not provide funding to Koo Jr is not enough.”
The commission will not turn a blind eye if the Koo family seeks to circumvent the separation rule through other means, Chiu said, adding that Koo Jr had promised to brief the public on the matter in the next few days.
The anti-media monopoly alliance raised similar concerns yesterday, saying that Koo Jr had been involved in financial scandals and was unfit to run a media corporation.
One of the financial scandals in which Koo was involved was Chinatrust Financial’s flawed bid for rival Mega Financial Holdings Co (兆豐金控) in 2006 — known as the Red Fire Case (紅火案), after the name of the offshore company used to conduct the illegal transaction. He had evaded an arrest warrant and hid in Japan for two years before returning to Taiwan in 2008. He was the vice chairman of Chinatrust Financial at the time.
Chen Hsiao-yi (陳曉宜), organizer of the alliance, said Koo Jr was not fit to run a media business because he had been sentenced to nine years in jail by the Taipei District Court in 2010 for the illegal takeover bid for Mega Financial in violation of the Securities Exchange Act (證券交易法) and the Banking Act (銀行法).
Koo’s case is under appeal.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
RSS