CPC chairman offers to resign after company posts record loss

Wenent Pan, chairman of Taiwan’s state-run oil refiner China Petroleum Corp. (CPC), said he has offered to resign from his post after CPC posted a record loss in 2008. His resignation is still for approval of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which oversees CPC’s operations. Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming said in early February that he had not yet looked into Pan’s resignation. The firm registered a pre-tax loss of NT$136.3 billion (US$3.97 billion) in 2008, or a loss-per-share of NT$10.47 (US$0.3). Pan’s offer to resign came just as the Taiwanese press released reports of a possible personnel reshuffle at Taiwan’s state-run firms. Yiin said if the Kuomintang were to implement such a plan, it would not target any specific individuals. (February 3, 2009)