The Shanghai-based company, which focuses on mature node technology, announced in a stock filing on Thursday that it has brought on board Bai Peng, 62, a former global vice-president at Intel, as its new president under a three-year contract. Bai will succeed Tang Junjun, who will continue to serve as chairman and executive director of Hua Hong Semiconductor.
With over three decades of experience in semiconductor fabrication, Bai has held senior roles at several chip manufacturers, including the prominent US company Intel. He is an alumnus of Peking University in China and earned his bachelor's degree in physics in 1985 from the University of Bucharest, Romania. He also obtained his doctorate in physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, as noted in his official biography.
Most recently, Bai served as the chief executive of Rong Semiconductor (Ningbo) Co, a foundry specializing in image sensors, power management chips, and display drivers utilizing mature node technology ranging from 28-nanometre to 180-nm. Prior to that, he held various positions at Intel, including process integration engineer, yield engineering director, R&D director, vice-president, and ultimately global vice-president, according to the filing.
Bai's appointment comes shortly after Hua Hong commenced operations at a new facility in Wuxi, located in Jiangsu province near Shanghai. This change also follows the recent decision by Hua Hong Group, the state-owned parent company of Hua Hong Semiconductor, to appoint Qin Jian as the new chairman, replacing Zhang Suxin, who had held the position since 2016.
The recent management changes occur as the Chinese semiconductor sector encounters new challenges, particularly with the United States initiating a trade investigation into China's legacy semiconductor production, an area of significant interest for Hua Hong.
In the third quarter of 2024, Hua Hong Group was positioned as the sixth-largest global foundry, fueled by demand from local chip design firms. Its market share for this quarter was recorded at 2.2 percent, a decrease from 2.6 percent during the same timeframe the previous year, as reported by Taiwanese IC research firm TrendForce.
Similar to its local competitor, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, Hua Hong Semiconductor derives the majority of its revenue from the domestic market. In the third quarter of 2024, 82 percent of its total revenue, amounting to US$526.3 million, came from mainland China, with only US$47.6 million sourced from customers in the United States.