Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday listed six flaws in EasyCard Corp’s Emerging Stock Market listing process, which was carried out in December last year before a change in municipal administration.
EasyCard Corp on Dec. 9 last year announced that its board had approved its plan to apply for listing on the Taipei Exchange’s Emerging Stock Market, only two weeks before then-mayor and Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) stepped down from his post on Dec. 25, with the corporation debuting on the stock market in January.
Saying that the Ko administration’s decision to list EasyCard appeared rushed and that it might dilute the government’s shares in the company, Chiang in June instructed city government officials to look into the case.
Photo: CNA
Reporting at the Taipei City Council yesterday, Chiang said the council found six flaws in the listing process:
‧ First, the company, which was operating normally and had abundant funding, did not follow the commercial practice of stating where the funds from the listing would be used or provide an operational or financial plan.
‧ Second, the company’s proposal stated that the city government would have a shareholding percentage of up to 74 percent; in reality, the government’s direct and indirect holdings combined totaled only 38.43 percent.
‧ Third, the company knew it would not be able to debut on the stock market during Ko’s term, but insisted on carrying out the listing, which is disrespectful of the new public opinion represented by the new mayor.
‧ Fourth, the Taipei Department of Budget had reminded the company about issues regarding the listing, but the listing was still approved, which disrespects professionalism.
‧ Fifth, the decision was reported to the city council through written documentation during a council recess, likely to avoid supervision.
‧ Sixth, it goes against political ethics and convention for a lame-duck government to continue pushing decisions when a new mayor has been elected.
While the investigation report states that the listing decision was made hastily and imprudently, and has several flaws, it did not find any illegally conduct, Chiang said.
To follow up on the issue, Chiang said he has asked the company to clarify its prospects and explain them to the public.
Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said that a company lists on the Emerging Stock Market either to raise funds, increase brand awareness or prepare for listing on the mainboard, but EasyCard Corp does not meet any of these three purposes.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Liu Tsai-wei (柳采葳) said that the EasyCard is widely used, associated with public interest and provides data for statistical analysis, but that the Ko administration casually made such a big decision only several days before the mayoral election, which appears ill-planned.
Social Democratic Party Taipei City Councilor Miao Po-ya (苗博雅) said that if the city government’s control over EasyCard Corp has dropped to less than 40 percent, Chiang’s administration should come up with a list of who was responsible for the decision.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS