Chairman of Chipmaker SMIC Quits Due to Health Issues

What’s new: Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) (688981.SH) said its chairman, Zhou Zixue, has resigned due to health reasons, after serving in the position for more than six years.

Zhou will continue to serve as an executive director of the Shanghai- and Hong Kong-listed company, SMIC said in a filing posted Friday. Gao Yonggang, chief financial officer of the Chinese chipmaker, has been appointed as acting chairman of the company, the filing shows.

The background: Zhou, 65, served as chief economist of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology before he was appointed as SMIC chairman in March 2015. Under his leadership, SMIC’s net profits rose to $716 million in 2020, nearly tripling from 2015. In July last year, the company launched a mega IPO on Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style STAR Market.

SMIC’s top leadership has undergone major changes since late last year as the company faced an onslaught of U.S. sanctions amid rising China-U.S. tensions. In December, SMIC hired industry veteran Chiang Shang-yi as its vice chairman. In July, Wu Jingang, SMIC’s then-vice president of research and development, resigned from his role.

Related: Key Researcher Leaves Chinese Mainland’s Leading Chipmaker

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. To read the full story in Chinese, click here.

Contact reporter Tang Ziyi (ziyitang@caixin.com) and editor Lin Jinbing (jinbinglin@caixin.com)

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