Activist shareholders won the majority of board seats at Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控) on Friday, ending decades of control by founder and former chairman Eugene Wu (吳東進).
Activist shareholders led by the company’s former board director Hung Shih-chi (洪士琪) won 10 of 15 seats on the 21-year-old company’s board.
Among the 10 seats, eight are directors — including former Chang Hwa Bank (彰化銀行) chairman and former Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控) president Julius Chen (陳淮舟), former KGI Bank (凱基銀行) chairman Mark Wei (魏寶生) and Hung — and two are independent directors.
Photo: Wu Hsin-tien, Taipei Times
Chen was later elected as Shin Kong Financial chairman.
Eugene Wu and his allies gained five seats on the company’s board: his daughter, Shin Kong Financial president Olivia Wu (吳欣儒); Shin Kong Commercial Bank (新光銀行) chairman Lee Tseng-chang (李增昌); and MasterLink Securities Co (元富證券) chairman Joey Chen (陳俊宏).
About 85 percent of shareholders cast votes in the board election, the company said.
“Today marks a milestone for Shin Kong Financial as we make the first step toward reform,” Hung told reporters after the annual shareholders’ meeting in Taipei.
Hung had been critical about Shin Kong Financial’s operations, saying that the company’s share price was much lower than its book value.
However, he praised the company’s management team, including Olivia Wu and former chairman Victor Hsu (許澎), saying that they had worked hard over the past three years.
Eugene Wu urged all newly elected board directors to work together and make decisions in the interest of all shareholders, “especially regarding possible mergers and acquisitions in the future,” he said in a statement.
Eugene Wu said that he regretted the outcome of the election, but did not find it surprising.
He would not be adjusting his stake in Shin Kong Financial, he said, adding that the board directors nominated by him would continue to support the company.
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