Power Struggle Emerges At ARM: China Business At Risk

LONDON: Chipmaker ARM’s China CEO, Allen Wu, has been removed from his position for not disclosing conflicts of interest that are said to have “endangered” the company.

The removal has sparked a power struggle at the British chip giant which could threaten its China business.

The company was apparently acting on whistleblower complaints and has appointed two executives, Ken Phua and Phil Tang, as interim co-CEOs.

But ARM China, a joint venture between the parent company and several others, has described the removal as invalid because no legitimate board meeting had been convened.

According to ARM China, Wu remains CEO and operations are continuing normally as it considers legal action.

The joint venture company said Tang had been fired on May 26 for “serious violations”, whereas ARM said the company had found no evidence of violations by Tang and he had been reinstated.

It appears the conflict is linked to the US campaign against Chinese networking giant Huawei, one of ARM China’s biggest customers, for whom Wu has publicly expressed support.