While several accounting scandals have raised concerns about the credibility and
transparency of corporate financial statements and debate over expensing stock
options in the USA, a related controversy has also appeared in Taiwan. This issue was
discussed in an Asian Wall Street Journal article on 18 July 2002, which noted that
high-tech companies in Taiwan offered the most lavish employee stock bonuses in the
world. Local shareholders and foreign investors have become increasingly concerned that such exceptionally generous stock dividends may infringe on their equity value.