Intel to Opens US$1 Billion Chip Factory at Vietnam

The world's largest chip maker said the factory has a total area of 46,000 square meters, about the size of five and a half football fields, Intel said in a statement. Chip testing and assembly factories are where chips are sent to be tested for defects and then placed inside protective packaging.

"Assembly and test is a critical final step in the end-to-end manufacturing of Intel's silicon products," the company said.

The Vietnam factory differs from Intel's other big announcement this week, the opening of its US$2.5 billion chip manufacturing plant in China, in that a chip manufacturing plant actually produces chips.

The new factory is located in the Saigon Hi-tech Park, District 9, in Ho Chi Minh City. This is Intel's biggest project in Vietnam since it opened its first office in Ho Chi Minh City in 1997.

The chip assembly plant does most of its work on chipsets for laptops and mobile devices, Intel said.

Intel said it was attracted to Vietnam by its skilled, vibrant workforce, as well as the support Intel has received over the past four years from the Vietnam government, the Saigon Hi-tech Park and suppliers. The project was first announced in 2006, and construction began in March, 2007, according to information provided by Inte