Shin Kong Financial Holding Co Ltd (新光金控) yesterday announced that chairman Eugene Wu (吳東進) had stepped down in an unexpected board reshuffle that surprised the market.
Wu, who founded Shin Kong Financial and has run the firm for about 18 years, stepped down as chairman with immediate effect after the company’s board yesterday approved the move.
“I am not retiring due to any disease, and I hope the public will not speculate too much,” Wu told reporters in Taipei after the board meeting.
“I just do not want to be like my father, who died of sudden cardiac arrest in the office. He faced heavy psychological and physical pressure 34 years ago, when the economy entered a recession,” Wu said.
“There is no rule that we must die on the battlefield,” he added.
Wu has led many of Shin Kong Group’s (新光集團) subsidiaries, such as Taiwan Shin Kong Security Co (新光保全) and Great Taipei Gas Corp (大台北瓦斯) after his father, Wu Ho-su (吳火獅), the founder of the family business, passed away in 1986.
The 75-year-old Wu considered relinquishing his position when he heard that a former classmate, O-Bank Co (王道商業銀行) chairman Kenneth Lo (駱錦明), plans to retire in the near term, and “it seemed to be good idea,” Wu said.
He said he would pursue interests such as golf, mahjong, reading, traveling, horse riding and diving.
Victor Hsu (許澎), who had previously been Shin Kong Financial’s president, vice chairman and a board member, was appointed chairman effective yesterday.
Eugene Wu’s daughter, Olivia Wu (吳欣儒), was appointed president, a position that had been vacant for two years after the former president, Catherine Lee (李紀珠), left the role in March 2018, the company said in a Taiwan Stock Exchange filing.
Olivia Wu’s appointment would take effect following Financial Supervisory Commission approval, when she would take over for acting president Huang Min-yi (黃敏義), who is also vice president.
Eugene Wu said that over the past 16 years, he has prepared his daughter to be a professional leader.
He said he believes the appointment would benefit the company as Olivia Wu is younger and brighter than he is.
Oliva Wu had been the vice president of Shin Kong Financial and vice chairwoman of Shin Kong Commercial Bank (新光銀行) and was responsible for the company’s digital transition.
Meanwhile, Catherine Lee remains as Shin Kong Financial’s vice chairwoman despite objections from the company’s former independent director Lee Sheng-yann (李勝彥).
Shareholders also approved a proposal to distribute a cash dividend of NT$0.4 per share, which was criticized by some shareholders for being too low compared with other financial conglomerates.
Eugene Wu apologized and said the company would continue to improve its profitability.
TARIFFS: The global ‘panic atmosphere remains strong,’ and foreign investors have continued to sell their holdings since the start of the year, the Ministry of Finance said The government yesterday authorized the activation of its NT$500 billion (US$15.15 billion) National Stabilization Fund (NSF) to prop up the local stock market after two days of sharp falls in reaction to US President Donald Trump’s new import tariffs. The Ministry of Finance said in a statement after the market close that the steering committee of the fund had been given the go-ahead to intervene in the market to bolster Taiwanese shares in a time of crisis. The fund has been authorized to use its assets “to carry out market stabilization tasks as appropriate to maintain the stability of Taiwan’s
STEEP DECLINE: Yesterday’s drop was the third-steepest in its history, the steepest being Monday’s drop in the wake of the tariff announcement on Wednesday last week Taiwanese stocks continued their heavy sell-off yesterday, as concerns over US tariffs and unwinding of leveraged bets weighed on the market. The benchmark TAIEX plunged 1,068.19 points, or 5.79 percent, to 17,391.76, notching the biggest drop among Asian peers as it hit a 15-month low. The decline came even after the government on late Tuesday authorized the NT$500 billion (US$15.2 billion) National Stabilization Fund (國安基金) to step in to buoy the market amid investors’ worries over tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. Yesterday’s decline was the third-steepest in its history, trailing only the declines of 2,065.87 points on Monday and
TARIFF CONCERNS: The chipmaker cited global uncertainty from US tariffs and a weakening economic outlook, but said its Singapore expansion remains on track Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (世界先進), a foundry service provider specializing in producing power management and display driver chips, yesterday withdrew its full-year revenue projection of moderate growth for this year, as escalating US tariff tensions raised uncertainty and concern about a potential economic recession. The Hsinchu-based chipmaker in February said revenues this year would grow mildly from last year based on improving supply chain inventory levels and market demand. At the time, it also anticipated gradual quarter revenue growth. However, the US’ sweeping tariff policy has upended the industry’s supply chains and weakened economic prospects for the world economy, it said. “Now
An employment discrimination lawsuit against contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) might soon be expanded after a hearing in a federal court in San Jose, California, on Tuesday to add 15 plaintiffs to the case. According to a court document, the lawsuit, which was refiled in November last year as a form of a class action with 13 plaintiffs in California, wants to add 15 plaintiffs from Arizona, where TSMC is building up its wafer fab capacity. TSMC first committed between 2020 and last year to invest US$65 billion in three advanced wafer fabs in Arizona. It then pledged an
RSS