SMIC Rift: Rare Peek into China IC Industry

6 Trends Brewing in China's Semiconductor Industry

By Junko Yoshida, EETimes
March 26, 2019

We decided to write up what we had learned about SMIC Co-CEO Haijun Zhao, because Zhao's rumored resignation has opened the door to a rare opportunity to see what's brewing inside the Chinese semiconductor industry.

We began seriously pursuing a story about SMIC co-CEO Haijun Zhao’s possible resignation from his top post at China’s largest semiconductor foundry when we got a tip from one of our sources in China that what had long been only speculation was now fact. The movement of top executives can often offer a glimpse into the workings of the companies they head up and the markets in which those companies are involved, but the comings and goings of these particular executives have consequences for the entire Chinese semiconductor market.

For months, we’d heard rumors that acrimony between Zhao and SMIC co-CEO Liang Mong Song was percolating. Liang is renowned as a technology whiz who understands advanced process nodes, but the word on the street is that he’s not a people person. In contrast, Zhao is said to have found Liang’s style “too aggressive.”

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