Asia Pacific Telecom to elect acting chair next week

The board of Asia Pacific Telecom will elect an acting chairman next week after it failed to elect one yesterday.

The election came after the company's ex-chairman, Lai Chun-tien, resigned after the government refused to accept a deal he spearheaded to purchase Atech System Integrated Co.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC), which holds a 25.5 percent stake in Asia Pacific Telecom, and board members representing private shareholders held separate meetings, each electing an acting chairman.

MOTC elected Chiu Chun-chih, general manager of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, while private shareholders elected Huang Chien-ming, a director of Asia Pacific.

Both sides refused to budge, each claiming its meeting was legitimate. In the end, both side concluded they should elect an acting chairman next week.

Asia Pacific Telecom was one of the firms under the Rebar Group, which crumbled last year after several of its businesses failed.