Iria

Vietnam has approved the issurance of a license for Intel, the world's largest microchip maker, to build a $605 million plant to produce chips and computer parts in a deal that officials hope could help draw more investors.

Intel said Thursday that the license would be handed over formally at a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City on Feb. 28.

Chairman Craig Barrett will introduce the project and receive the investment license, Intel said without elaborating.

A source close to the deal said the Intel unit in Hong Kong would run the project, which will make Intel be Vietnam's first major foreign investor in the high-technology field.

The plant is expected to be built at Saigon Hi-Tech Park in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's commercial center, and output would be for export, government officials have said.

Vietnam has projected $2 billion worth of electronics products exports for 2006, up nearly 40 percent from 2005, industry reports show.

Officials at the Planning and Investment Ministry, which oversees foreign investment, could not immediately be reached for comment.
____________
Read More / Source: News.com