By Christine Lunday, SST Online editor
In an unexpected move, the head of Taiwan's Hsinchu Science-Based Industrial Park (HSIP) — the island's chipmaking hub — will leave the general director's post next month.
Kung Wang has been the HSIP administration's general director for the past three years, overseeing all operations from land use and power supply to industry development within the park. He will be succeeded by Wen-hsiung Huang, the current director of the fledgling Tainan Science-Based Industrial Park and former director of the Precision Instrument Development Center (PIDC) in Hsinchu.
No word was available on what prompted Wang's departure, and Wang could not be reached for comment. Sources in the government-run Hsinchu Science park say the change comes as somewhat of a surprise. That said, companies are not expecting any drastic policy changes as a result of the new leadership. Many firms have worked with Huang in his role at PIDC.
HSIP, established by the Taiwan government over 18 years ago, is credited with helping to launch Taiwan's IC industry. It's home to more than 270 high-tech companies, including foundries UMC Group and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. The park also is home to the Taiwan operations of a number of US-based equipment firms, such as Applied Materials and Lam Research.