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From losing S$100m to earning S$55m profit

Two years ago, Hi-P CEO Yao Hsiao Tung had to postpone his plans to slow down. Now that business has stabilised, he's back to succession planning

Published Wed, Dec 20, 2017 · 09:50 PM

    Singapore

    IN 2015, Yao Hsiao Tung was 75 and looking to slow down. He'd begun seeking his successor as chief executive officer of Hi-P International Ltd, a contract manufacturer for customers including Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc. But an annual loss, and the US$126 million claim that Hi-P filed because of it, ended that plan.

    The self-professed troubleshooter attributes the company's first red ink since listing on Singapore's stock exchange mostly to one big error that he oversaw. Its electronics unit took on a contract to co-design and produce a dual-screen smartphone for Yota Devices Ltd without doing enough due diligence. The Moscow-based firm didn't take delivery of the phones, according to Yao. Yota couldn't be reached for comment.

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