SMIC appointed David N.K. Wang to replace Chang as president and CEO, effective immediately. Wang is a veteran semiconductor industry executive who formerly served as president of Applied Materials' Asian operations and was the CEO of Huahong Co. Ltd. and chairman of Huahong NEC.

SMIC said Chang resigned to pursue other interests. Chang has also apparently abandoned his seat on SMIC's board of directors.

Chang founded SMIC, China's largest semiconductor company, in April 2000. Prior to that Chang spent 20 years at Texas Instruments Inc. and was president of chip foundry Worldwide Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. from 1998 to 1999, according to SMIC's website.

In a statement, Jiang Shang Zhou, SMIC's chairman, said the company was pleased to have Wang as its new leader. Zhou also thanked Chang for "his invaluable contribution to the founding and growth of SMIC over the years."

Earlier Monday, EE Times reported that SMIC settled a long-running feud with rival foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. over alleged misappropriation of trade secrets. SMIC will pay TSMC $200 million plus an undisclosed amount of SMIC stock and warrants under the terms of the settlement, according to an attorney involved in the case.

Richard Chang

Backed by Chinese government support, Chang built SMIC into the fourth-largest pure-play foundry in the world. But the company has most often posted quarterly losses throughout its nine-year history. SMIC was reportedly desperate for a cash infusion when Beijing-based Datang Telecom Technology & Industry Holdings Co. Ltd. acquired a 16.6 percent stake in the company for $172 million last year.

Chang has at times been a controversial figure. In 2005, he reportedly renounced his Taiwanese citizenship after he was fined NT$5 million ($155,625) by the island's government for allegedly making illegal investments in China. Taiwan claimed that Chang set up SMIC in China with money raised in Taiwan through a foreign-registered company, according to a report.

Also in 2005, SMIC replaced Chang as chairman with Yang Yuan Wang following a string of losses.