ZTE’s former mobile chief Adam Zeng resigns

Chinese telecom equipment provider ZTE Corporation said the former head of its mobile division has resigned from the company.

In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Wednesday, ZTE said Adam Zeng Xuezhong has resigned as executive vice president of ZTE and relinquished his other positions at the company, citing personal reasons.

Zeng had served as chief executive of ZTE Mobile Devices and overseen the company’s terminal business division since January 2014. But in October last year ZTE appointed Yin Yimin as head of mobile devices, while Zeng remained as an executive vice president to assist Yin in his work.

ZTE did not explain their reasons behind the changes last year. In March 2017, Yin also assumed the role of chairman.

According to its annual report in late March, the Chinese company said revenue in its consumer business division – which mostly comes from terminal products sales – increased 3 per cent to 33.5 billion yuan in 2016.

The company claimed to have strengthened its position as the No. 4 provider of smartphones in North America and moved up to No. 5 in Europe. But in its home market, ZTE remains a smaller player and has been edged out of the top five brands.