Earle Ho

Earle Ho, a Taiwanese steel executive, was named Thursday to replace David Huang as chairman of Taiwan Aerospace, the firm that may buy up to 40% of McDonnell Douglas' commercial aircraft operations. Ho, 53, chairman of the private Tung Ho Steel Enterprise Corp., is expected to relieve Taiwan Aerospace of political problems blamed on Huang, 72, who resigned Wednesday.

The chairman of Taiwan Aerospace Corp. said Wednesday that the company won't pay $2 billion for a stake in McDonnell Douglas' commercial aircraft business and may try to renegotiate Taiwan's investment in the Long Beach-based operations. Taiwan Aerospace Chairman Earle J. S. Ho said the initially agreed upon price tag for 40% of Douglas Aircraft Co. was too high. "The $2-billion amount is not written in stone," he told reporters after addressing a hearing of Taiwan's legislature.

The chairman of Taiwan Aerospace Corp. said Wednesday that the company won't pay $2 billion for a stake in McDonnell Douglas' commercial aircraft business and may try to renegotiate Taiwan's investment in the Long Beach-based operations. Taiwan Aerospace Chairman Earle J. S. Ho said the initially agreed upon price tag for 40% of Douglas Aircraft Co. was too high. "The $2-billion amount is not written in stone," he told reporters after addressing a hearing of Taiwan's legislature.

Earle Ho, a Taiwanese steel executive, was named Thursday to replace David Huang as chairman of Taiwan Aerospace, the firm that may buy up to 40% of McDonnell Douglas' commercial aircraft operations. Ho, 53, chairman of the private Tung Ho Steel Enterprise Corp., is expected to relieve Taiwan Aerospace of political problems blamed on Huang, 72, who resigned Wednesday.

Talks with McDonnell Douglas Corp. will be resumed in a bid to salvage Taiwan's troubled plan for a multibillion-dollar link-up with the U.S. airplane maker, the government said Tuesday. A new negotiating team, which includes officials of Taiwan Aerospace Corp. and leading local industrialists, hopes to restart the talks in early September, Vice Economics Minister Yang Shih-chien told reporters.

A succession of delays in Taiwan Aerospace Corp.'s proposed investment in McDonnell Douglas is prompting new questions about the enthusiasm of private investors in Taiwan. The government owns 29% of Taiwan Aerospace but wants the private sector to finance most of Taiwan's investment in McDonnell's commercial aircraft business. And industry has begun expressing doubts about a deal that could amount to a $2-billion purchase of a 40% stake in the Long Beach-based operation.