SEMICONDUCTOR Manufacturing International Corp yesterday announced it has appointed former Hua Hong Chief Executive Chiu Tzu-Yin as the new CEO, effective immediately, which ended a management shake-up at the Chinese mainland's biggest made-to-order chipmaker.

Chiu, a 27-year veteran in the semiconductor industry, was appointed CEO and executive director of Hong Kong-listed SMIC, the world's fourth biggest made-to-order chipmaker.

"My mission is to further improve SMIC's operations .... and continue to develop long-team strategic relationships with key customers," said Chiu who used to work for SMIC.

SMIC's recently-appointed chairman Zhang Wenyi said in a statement that Chiu's extensive technical and management experience in the semiconductor field "sets him apart as an ideal choice to lead SMIC into the future."

Shares of SMIC lost 4.65 percent to 41 Hong Kong cents (6 US cents) yesterday, compared with the Hang Seng Index's 4.6 percent decline. SMIC has lost 20 percent since former chairman Jiang Shangzhou passed away unexpectedly last month and ex-CEO David Wang resigned later.

Before joining SMIC, Chiu held senior positions at various firms, including Shanghai-based Hua Hong NEC Electronics, Shanghai Huali Microelectronics Corp, Silterra Malaysia and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, the world's biggest made-to-order chipmaker.

SMIC saw a management shake-up in the past month. After the death of former chairman Jiang, shareholders rejected Wang's reappointment as director of the board, which led him to resign.