TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan's government will announce the appointment of former board member of chipmaker TSMC Kung Ming-hsin as the new economy minister after his predecessor resigned for health reasons, the official Central News Agency said on Wednesday.

Kung, who will move from the role of cabinet secretary-general, had previously sat on the board of the world's largest contract chipmaker TSMC as a representative of the company's major shareholder, the government's National Development Fund.

Taiwan's cabinet declined an immediate comment. Kung's name has been repeatedly floated as the new economy minister by Taiwanese media over the past week.

One of the ministry's key roles is overseeing the crucial semiconductor sector in Taiwan.

It also enforces controls to ensure sensitive high-tech goods do not end up in countries subject to export curbs such as China or Russia, and oversees energy policy.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Jeanny Kao; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)