TAIPEI, Sept 4 — Foxconn founder Terry Gou has resigned as a director for "personal reasons”, officially cutting ties as the billionaire focuses on his long-shot run for president in Taiwan’s elections next year.

Gou made his fortune turning Foxconn into the world’s largest contract producer of electronics, including for Apple’s iPhones, but has not held a managerial role since he stepped down in 2019 for a failed presidential bid.

Foxconn said in a weekend news release that Gou did not need to be replaced because there were other directors on the board and he had "officially handed over leadership... four years ago”.

The 72-year-old announced last week he would run as an independent candidate, having failed to become the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party’s nominee.

Analysts say Gou has only a slim chance of winning the January 2024 election, with three opposition candidates in the race against the poll-leading Democratic Progressive Party.

Foxconn has huge factories in China and critics have alleged that Gou has a cosy relationship with the Chinese leadership, although Gou says he can bring peace between Taipei and Beijing.

China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its territory and has long vowed to take it one day, by force if necessary.

The election will be closely watched around the region as China ramps up political and military pressure against the self-ruled island, particularly since outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen won office in 2016. — AFP