SmarTone CEO Anna Yip (pictured) resigned after four years at the helm of the Hong Kong-based operator, with current deputy chairman Fung Yuk-lun set to become an executive director and take temporary charge on 17 August.

In a stock market statement, SmarTone said Yip was leaving to pursue other career interests and there had been no disagreement with the company’s board. After being replaced in August, she will stay on for an undisclosed period to help with the transition process.

It added the process of finding a permanent successor was already underway.

SmarTone is the fourth largest operator in Hong Kong by connections, GSMA Intelligence figures showed, with 2.7 million in Q2 2020.

It is behind CK Hutchison’s 3, HKT and China Mobile Hong Kong, and was the last of the four to launch commercial 5G services almost two months after its three larger rivals.

During the GSMA’s online Thrive China event last month Yip stood-by its strategy of focusing on achieving wide 5G coverage before launching commercial services, claiming the scale of its network gave it a unique selling point.