U.S. chip maker Qualcomm Inc. has announced the appointment of industry veteran Frank Meng Pu as its new chairman for China, replacing Wang Xiang who will leave his post as president of Greater China to join Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Inc., according to a report by Reuters.
As new chairman, Frank Meng Pu will take over the company leadership in a market which accounts for half of the company's overall revenues, as China is being considered as the world's biggest market of smartphones in terms of shipments.
Meng's appointment came as Qualcomm had implemented a re-organization after encountering some problems. The Chinese government had conducted a 14-month-long probe into the company's anti-competitive practices, in which Qualcomm later agreed to pay $975 million in fines, the largest in the country's corporate history.
The settlement resulted in Qualcomm lowering its royalty rates on patents that the company used in China.
Aside from that, Qualcomm also encountered problems with its licensees in China, which it believed may not be fully reporting the sales of their products, undercutting the company's revenues.
According to the statement released by the company on June 10, Wednesday, Meng's appointment is effective on June 15.
Meng was previously Qualcomm's president of Greater China from 2008 to 2010 and has 30 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, according to the statement.
Before his return, Meng headed 21Vianet Group Inc., a Chinese Internet data center provider, as its president.
"Frank's extensive industry experience and leadership will drive continued business growth and further strengthen our collaboration across the Chinese mobile ecosystem and semiconductor sector," Derek Aberle, president of Qualcomm, said in the statement.
On the hand, Wang will become senior vice president of strategic cooperation at Xiaomi.