Former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) joint chief operating officer Chiang Shang-yi (蔣尚義) is to take a job at Chinese rival Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC, 中芯國際), the Shanghai-based chipmaker said yesterday.
SMIC’s announcement ruffled feathers in local semiconductor circles, as Chiang is one of the key people who helped TSMC clinch top spot in the global semiconductor market through a slew of technological upgrades.
Chiang retired as vice president of TSMC’s research and development division in 2006, but he was “summoned” to rejoin the company in 2009 by TSMC chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀) to assist with the upgrades to 28-nanometer, 20-nanometer and 16-nanometer technologies.
Photo: Hung Yu-fang, Taipei Times
The advanced chips accounted for 55 percent of the chipmaker’s total revenue last quarter.
In 2013, Chiang, 70, retired again and was tapped as an adviser to Chang for the following two years. That role ended in December last year.
TSMC said that it was informed by Chiang in advance about his new position and that it does not expect it to adversely impact the company.
His position would be part of SMIC’s efforts to enhance its corporate governance and it is not linked to the chipmaker’s operations, TSMC said.
SMIC, the biggest contract chipmaker in China, has been struggling to implement advanced technologies and it lags behind TSMC by about three generations in terms of technology.
TSMC is planning to ship 10-nanometer chips in the first quarter next year, while SMIC is still relying on 28-nanometer chips.
SMIC’s revenue contribution from its 28-nanometer chips increased to 1.4 percent of its overall revenue last quarter, up from 0.1 percent the previous year, according to the company’s financial statement.
TSMC has a more than 70 percent share of the worldwide 28-nanometer chip market.
Chiang would be an independent non-executive director, the company said in a filing with Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd.
Chiang does not hold any other position at SMIC or any of its subsidiaries, SMIC said in the filing.
Chiang led TSMC’s research and development as it set milestones in semiconductor technology, from legacy 0.25-micron chips to advanced 16-nanometer FinFET technologies, transforming TSMC from a technology follower to a technology leader, SMIC said.
Chiang is to receive annual cash compensation of US$40,000 and an option to subscribe for 187,500 SMIC ordinary shares, the company said.
TSMC shares fell 1.37 percent to close at NT$180 in Taipei trading yesterday, while SMIC shares slipped 0.76 percent in Hong Kong trading.
SILENCING CRITICS: In addition to blocking Taiwan, China aimed to prevent rights activists from speaking out against authoritarian states, a Cabinet department said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned transnational repression by Beijing after RightsCon, a major digital human rights conference scheduled to be held in Zambia this week, was abruptly canceled due to Chinese pressure over Taiwanese participation. This year’s RightsCon, the world’s largest conference discussing issues “at the intersection of human rights and technology,” was scheduled to take place from tomorrow to Friday in Lusaka, and expected to draw 2,600 in-person attendees from 150 countries, along with 1,100 online participants. However, organizers were forced to cancel the event due to behind-the-scenes pressure from China, the ministry said, expressing its “strongest condemnation”
DELAYED BUT DETERMINED: The president’s visit highlights Taiwan’s right to international engagement amid regional pressure from China President Willaim Lai (賴清德) yesterday arrived in Eswatini, more than a week after his planned visit to Taiwan’s sole African ally was suspended because of revoked overflight permits. “The visit, originally scheduled for April 22, was postponed due to unforeseen external factors,” Lai wrote on social media. “After several days of careful arrangements by our diplomatic and national security teams, we successfully arrived today.” Lai said he looked forward to further deepening Taiwan-Eswatini relations through closer cooperation in the economy, agriculture, culture and education, as well as advancing the nation’s international partnerships. The president was initially scheduled to arrive in time to celebrate
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) yesterday said the US faced a choice between an “impossible” military operation or a “bad deal” with Tehran, after US President Donald Trump disparaged Iran’s latest peace proposal. Negotiations between the two countries have been deadlocked since a ceasefire came into effect on April 8, with only one round of direct peace talks held so far. Iran’s Tasnim and Fars news agencies reported that Tehran had submitted a 14-point proposal to mediator Pakistan, but Trump was quick to cast doubt on it. “I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but
A group affiliated with indicted Chinese immigrant Xu Chunying (徐春鶯) is to be dissolved for monitoring Chinese immigrants in Taiwan, a source said yesterday. Xu, the secretary-general of the Cross-Strait Marriage and Family Service Alliance, was indicted on March 24 on charges of violating the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法). The alliance “illegally monitored" Chinese immigrants living in Taiwan on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Ministry of the Interior is expected to dissolve the organization in the coming days under provisions of the Civil Associations Act (人民團體法), the source said. Xu, who married a Taiwanese in 1993 and became a Republic
RSS