Chips on menu for Vietnam

has confirmed that it will invest £200 million to build a factory in

in

to make and package microchips for PCs and mobile phones.

Construction is due to start soon and the first chips will roll off the production line on 2007. There are also tentative plans to invest a similar amount in a second phase of the factory, depending on results.

Intel’s licence from the Vietnamese government sanctions the biggest investment in Vietnam to date by a US company.

Intel is the world’s largest chip manufacturer. The new facility will be its seventh assembly site and will employ 1,200 people.