Native name 頂新國際集團 Founder Wei Hede | Industry Food Founded 1958 | |
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Key people Wei Ing-Chou (zh), Wei Yingjiao (zh), Wei Ying-chun (zh), Wei Yingxing (zh) Website www.tinghsin.com/tw/default.aspx | ||
Ting Hsin International Group (Chinese: 頂新國際集團; pinyin: Dǐnxīn Guójì Jítuán) is a Taiwanese-owned corporate group established in 1958. It owns various food brands such as the instant noodle maker Master Kong, Wei-Chuan Food Corporation and Dicos.
In July 2009, it became the largest private shareholder in Taipei Financial Center Corporation, which owns Taipei 101.
In August 2014, Ting Hsin acquired China Network Systems, a cable provider, from MBK Partners, Limited.
Food scandals and boycott
In November 2013, Wei Ying-chun (魏應充), former chairman of three subsidiaries of Ting Hsin International Group, was indicted on charges of fraud as part of an investigation into the 2013 Taiwan food scandal. Wei Ying-chun is the third of four Wei brothers controlling the Ting Hsin group.
On 9 October 2014, prosecutors launched an investigation into the 2014 Taiwan food scandal alleging a unit of Ting Hsin International Group over sale of tainted cooking oil. Prosecutor Tsai Li-yi said Ting Hsin unit Cheng-I Food Co. (正義股份有限公司) is being investigated over allegedly mixing animal feed oil with cooking oil and then selling it for human consumption.
After the revelations, the Taiwan public boycotted Ting Hsin items, with a number of local governments, restaurants, traditional markets and schools refusing to consume the conglomerate's products. On 16 October 2014, Ting Hsin announced that it will leave Taiwan's oil market and donate NT$3 billion toward food safety under the supervision of Ruentex Financial Group (潤泰集團) Chairman Samuel Yin (尹衍樑).
The Changhua District Court granted a request to detain Wei Ying-chun on 17 October. On October 21, prosecutors said according to Ting Shin's Vietnamese oil supplier Dai Hanh Phuc, the majority of animal feed-grade oil imported by Ting Shin may be used in the China market. In response, consumers in China called for a united boycott against Ting Hsin products.
In November 2014, Ting Hsin's products were tested for Agent Orange since an unnamed source told authorities that the oil Ting Hsin imported from Vietnam may contain traces of the herbicidal weapon.
In November 2015, six former managers of Ting Hsin International Group, including former executive Wei Ying-chun, were found not guilty. The verdict attracted immediate criticism from both the public and politicians.
On 3 January 2017, Ting Hsin announced that its board of directors had dissolved the company's affiliate manufacturer of instant noodles, Master Kong (Taiwan) Foods Co., Ltd.