Tatung Co (大同) yesterday appointed Lu Ming-kuang (盧明光), former chairman of Sino-American Silicon Products Inc (中美晶), as its new chairman, following the surprise dismissal of outgoing chairman Lin Wen-yuan (林文淵) on Tuesday.
The company also appointed Chung Yi-wen (鍾依文), a former executive at Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), as president.
“I’m 72, I could be retired, but I have chosen to return to this place,” Lu told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Lu, dubbed the “King of Acquisitions,” last worked at Tatung in 1972 as a purchasing head.
“Within two years, all our subsidiaries will be profitable, within five years, our revenues will stand at NT$100 billion (US$3.5 billion) a year, and by next year, we will be paying our shareholders a dividend,” Lu said of his plan to turn the beleaguered firm around.
It has been more than a decade since Tatung last distributed a dividend, as the once-prominent home appliance giant has tottered amid mismanagement, embezzlement scandals and unsuccessful attempts to branch away from its core business.
For years the company was embroiled in boardroom drama as the “company faction” led by former chairwoman Lin Kuo Wen-yen (林郭文艷) wrestled with the “market faction” led by Shanyuan Group (三圓建設) chairman Wang Kuang-hsiang (王光祥).
However, after Wang prevailed, Lin Kuo remained on the board and was given the title of honorary chairwoman.
“I agreed to take the position because both honorary chairwoman Lin Kuo and Wang asked me,” Lu said. “There is no market faction or company faction now ... only the Tatung faction.”
Lu added that he only intends to remain chairman for three years before handing the position to someone “professional and capable.”
Chung used to serve as president of Hon Hai’s mechatronic components business group.
His experience at the world’s largest electronics maker would help him optimize Tatung, Chung said.
“There are many business practices at Hon Hai that helped us reward high-performing employees and are worthy of consideration, but I am not turning Tatung into Hon Hai, I’m going to optimize Tatung,” he said.
As Tatung’s major shareholder, Wang said that it is time to “activate” Tatung’s considerable land assets, although he was quick to emphasize that “Tatung assets will not turn into Shanyuan assets,” referring to his construction company.
He also pledged not to sell the company’s headquarters in Taipei’s Zhongshan District (中山).
“The land [where the headquarters are situated] is a resource that needs to be developed with care,” Wang said. “The best way to monetize it is to build on it and then rent it out.”
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