PSMC Chairman Frank Huang dies at 76

Taipei, Aug. 1 (CNA) Frank Huang (黃崇仁), chairman of Taiwan-based chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (PSMC), died at the age of 76, the company said.

In a statement filed with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), where PSMC shares are traded, the company said Huang died peacefully in his sleep at home Friday morning of cardiac and pulmonary failure.

PSMC said Vice Chairman Brian Shieh (謝在居) will assume Huang's duties.

"Our company's production and sales operations will proceed in an orderly manner according to the established plan," PSMC said in the statement. "All employees will continue to work with the same determination as always, carrying forward founder Dr. Frank Huang's mission of pioneering a new era for Taiwan's high-tech industry."

Huang founded dynamic random access memory (DRAM) maker Powerchip Semiconductor Corp., the predecessor of PSMC, in 1994. The company was listed on Taiwan's over-the-counter (OTC) market in 1998.\

After years of weakness in the global DRAM market, Powerchip Semiconductor accumulated heavy debt and was forced to delist from the OTC market at the end of 2012.

Huang then undertook a business and financial restructuring, repaying about NT$120 billion (US$3.72 billion) in debt and transforming the company from a DRAM manufacturer into pure-play foundry operator PSMC.

PSMC was listed on the main board in 2021, completing what many in the market described as a rebirth.

As recently as July, Huang chaired an investor conference, where he answered questions from institutional investors about the company's operations.

In the first half of this year, PSMC reported unaudited earnings per share of NT$4.08, compared with a loss per share of NT$1.06 in the same period last year.