Apple supplier Foxconn hires TSMC, SMIC chip veteran

Major Apple Inc supplier and iPhone assembler Foxconn said on Tuesday it had hired Chiang Shang-yi, a former top executive at Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC and Chinese chipmaker SMIC, to lead its growing push in the chip business.

Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker, is best known for assembling iPhones and other Apple products, though in recent years it has been expanding into chips to diversify its business.

It bought a chip plant from Taiwan chipmaker Macronix International last year and in September announced a joint venture with India’s Vedanta Ltd to set up semiconductor and display production plants there.

Foxconn said in a statement that Chiang had been appointed its semiconductor strategy officer, a newly created role.