TOKYO - SoftBank Group Corp nominated chip designer Arm Ltd's Chief Executive Rene Haas as a candidate to be a director, the Japanese technology investor said on Thursday.

The conglomerate regards Arm, whose technology underpins the smartphone industry and is used in supercomputers and data centre servers, as its core asset. It bought the British-based company for $32 billion in 2016.

Arm said in March it would pursue a listing in the United States, dashing British government hopes it would return to the London stock market.

SoftBank founder and chief executive Masayoshi Son said last year his company will likely remain a dominant shareholder in Arm even after the planned listing.

Haas's appointment is subject to approval at SoftBank's annual shareholders' meeting scheduled for June 21.

A SoftBank spokesperson said the company hopes Haas will use his "ample knowledge and experience in technology matters" in his post on the board.

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; editing by Barbara Lewis)