Chipmaker SMIC's founder-CEO Chang steps down

China's largest contract chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), said yesterday that its long-serving CEO has stepped down, in a bid to restructure the company that had posted losses over the past two years.

Richard Chang, the company's founder, will leave the firm to pursue other interests, according to a statement from SMIC. Chang will be replaced by David Wang, a 63-year-old director at Solar Fun Power Holdings.

Chang's resignation came shortly after the Shanghai-based chip maker said it would pay rival, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), $200 million as part of a deal to settle a long-running legal dispute.