July 31, 2006 – Dutch equipment firm ASM International NV is reshuffling the top management structure at its 54%-owned subsidiary ASM Pacific Technology Ltd., following the announced retirement of its cofounder and longtime CEO.

Patrick Lam, managing director and CEO of its ASM Pacific Technology Ltd. division since its inception in 1975, is retiring at the end of the year, and will be replaced by W.K. Lee, currently managing director of ASMPT’s southern region. Lam has served at the helm of the company for 31 years, but now feels it is “time for me to reorder my priorities in life,” focusing on doing voluntary work including teaching at the university post-graduate level, and various mentoring, advisory, and consulting roles (including for ASMPT). Lam will continue as ASMPT’s honorary chairman through June 2007.

Effective Jan. 1, 2007, ASMPT will be managed by an executive office consisting of newly promoted execs Peter Lo (vice-chairman), W.K. Le (CEO), and James Chow (COO). Lo currently is managing director of ASMPT’s northern region, which incorporates Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and the Philippines. Lee oversees the unit’s southern region, encompassing Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and India, in addition to the Group’s European and American activities. Chow, meanwhile, is currently managing director of ASMPT’s China operation, overseeing all technical and logistical operations in Mainland China, including factories in Shatoujiao and Fu Yong, Shenzhen.