Spreadtrum Announces the Appointment of President and CEO Dr. Leo Li as the New Chairman of the Board and Mr. Scott Sandell as the Lead Director of the Board

SHANGHAI, Aug. 12 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Spreadtrum Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPRD, "Spreadtrum" or the "Company"), one of China's leading wireless baseband chipset providers, today announced that the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board") has appointed President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Leo Li as the Company's Chairman of the Board and Mr. Scott Sandell, an outside and independent director, as the Lead Director of the Board, effective August 11, 2010.

Mr. Scott Sandell said: "Two years ago we were extremely fortunate to be able to bring Leo to Spreadtrum. Since then, he has provided invaluable leadership to the Company - most importantly guiding Spreadtrum through the challenging times and positioning the Company to succeed in today's reshaped market environment."

Commenting on the appointment, Dr. Li said, "I am delighted the Board had recognized my effort in reshaping the Company and returning it to profitability by appointing me as the new Chairman of the Board. It is a great honor to be part of Spreadtrum as it is the home to incredibly talented people who are the foundation of its success. We are extremely pleased that Mr. Sandell has accepted the responsibility of serving as Lead Director on our Board. This appointment reflects the Company's strong commitment to effective corporate governance practices."

Dr. Li has more than 21 years of experience in the wireless communications industry. He is a director of the Company and has served as the Company's President since October 2008 and Chief Executive Officer since February 2009.

The Lead Director is an outside and independent director appointed by the Board to ensure that the Board can perform its duties in an effective and efficient manner independent of management. This appointment is in line with good corporate governance practices where a Lead Director is appointed when, amongst other situations, the Chairman is not an independent director as is the case with Spreadtrum now.

Among his responsibilities as Lead Director, Mr. Sandell will serve as a liaison between the independent directors and senior management of the Company and will chair the executive sessions of the board's independent directors.

Mr. Sandell has been a member of Spreadtrum's Board since 2004. Mr. Sandell is currently, and will continue to serve as a member and the chair of Spreadtrum's Compensation Committee.

About Spreadtrum Communications, Inc.:

Spreadtrum Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPRD; "Spreadtrum") is a fabless semiconductor company that develops baseband and RF processor solutions for the wireless communications market. Spreadtrum combines its semiconductor design expertise with its software development capabilities to deliver highly-integrated baseband processors with multimedia functionality and power management. Spreadtrum has developed its solutions based on an open development platform, enabling its customers to develop customized wireless products that are feature-rich to meet their cost and time-to-market requirements.

SOURCE Spreadtrum Communications, Inc.