Intel Plans $2.5B China Chip Plant

Mar 26, 10:22 AM

Current Headlines: Intel Corp. will build a $2.5 billion advanced chip plant in China, nearly tripling its investment in the country, the Santa Clara, Calif., company said Monday.

The plant, called Fab 68, to be located in the northeastern port city of Dalian, will make 12-inch silicon wafers and use the most advanced circuit-etching technology the U.S. government lets Intel export to China, the company said.

Washington limits high-tech exports to countries it considers a national security concern.

The circuitry made at the plant, expected to come online in 2010, will be as thin as 90 nanometers, said China's top economic-development agency, the National Development and Reform Commission.

China is our fastest-growing major market and we believe it's critical that we invest in markets that will provide for future growth to better serve our customers, Intel Chief Executive Officer Paul Otellini said.

The plant will bring Intel's investment in China to $4 billion from $1.3 billion, Otellini said.

Dalian is a heavily developed industrial area with a high-tech industrial zone. It also has eight universities, including a technology university.