Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) president and CEO David NK Wang, along with other top executives including CFO Gary Tseng, chief business officer Chris Chi and chief administration officer Barry Quan, are planning to submit their resignation letters next week, the Chinese-language Commercial Times cited company sources as reporting on July 1.
The news comes on the heels of a statement released by the company that chairman Jiang Shang Zhou had passed away, and 58% of its shareholders voted against re-electing CEO David Wang to the board.
SMIC's shareholders have divided into two factions, the sources pointed out. One consisting of bigger shareholders which intends to name company COO Simon Yang as executive chairman of the board, and ultimately promote Yang to the CEO position, the sources claimed.
SMIC's major shareholders include Datang Telecom Technology & Industry Holdings, which is directly owned by China's central government, the country's sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation, and Shanghai Industrial Holdings.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which holds 8% of SMIC's shares as the result of a lawsuit settlement, has claimed it will not seek representation on the board of directors of SMIC or get involved in the company's operations.
SMIC has requested a suspension in the trading of the company's stock "pending the release of price-sensitive information," according to a company statement.
Article translated by Jessie Shen and edited by Ricky Morris
