Following the abrupt resignation of its CEO last week, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation has now named a new leader for the company.

Semiconductor foundry firm UMC has received the Industrial Technology Advancement Award in the category of Outstanding Enterprise Innovation Award from Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs.

France-based 4G chipmaker Sequans has opened a new office in Shanghai.

According to reports in foreign media, Chinese PC maker Lenovo has launched its new ThinkPad Edge series based on AMD's microprocessor and it is reportedly the first time for Lenovo to adopt AMD's chips in its notebook products.

Intel Capital, Intel's investment unit, has announced that it has invested USD25 million in seven companies, including two in China, to cultivate new technologies.

According to reports in Taiwanese local media, Taiwan's economic agencies will begin in July 2009 to discuss possibilities to lift limits on Taiwanese companies' investments in mainland China's high-end semiconductor industry.

Chinese Internet search engine Baidu.com has reportedly achieved cooperation with several mobile phone companies, including Samsung, Lenovo, Tianyu, and MediaTek, to further enhance its leading position in China's wireless search sector.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has announced its performance for the first quarter of 2009 and states it made NTD39.5 billion during the period, which was higher than expectations.

The Chongqing government recently held a TD-SCDMA industry investment meeting to build China's first 3G industrial zone and wireless technology park, drawing 18 investment projects from many technology companies, including IBM and Infineon, with total mobile investment intentions of CNY15.63 billion.

Samsung has adopted the VIA Nano processor, made by Taiwan's VIA Technologies, in the new Samsung NC20 mini-notebook.

Chi Mei Group, the Taiwan-based LCD panel manufacturer, has announced that it made net losses of USD923 million in the fourth quarter of 2008, which is the greatest quarterly loss of an individual company in the history of the panel industry.

Taiwan-based PC maker Asus has published its financial report for the fourth quarter of 2008, stating it made losses of NTD2.798 billion — the first loss since the founding of the company 19 years ago.

According to the two major Taiwanese chip foundries, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and United Microelectronics Corporation, both of the two companies' revenue decreased by about 60% in January 2009.

The global financial crisis has hit Intel, as the company announced it will shift some assembly and test facilities from Shanghai to Chengdu, a move that will affect about 2,000 Intel employees in Shanghai.

Shanghai-based Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation posted miserable quarterly figures as it announced its results of operations for the three months ended December 31, 2008, during which overall revenue decreased to USD272.5 million, down 27.5% quarter-on-quarter.