Construction started Monday on a US-funded microchip production plant at Suzhou Industrial Park in Suzhou city of east China's Jiangsu Province.
The project is the first chip manufacturing facility to be operated by the US-based National Semiconductor Corporation.
Called the National Semiconductor (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., it will cover 14.6 hectares and comprise three buildings for assembling and testing chips, and involve a total investment of US$200 million. It will employ 500 people when the project is completed in 2004.
Brian L. Halla, chairman and CEO of the National Semiconductor Corporation, said on Monday: "China is playing an increasingly important role in the global electronics market. We hope to become a leading supplier of analog and mixed signal solutions in China. Our strategy is to provide Chinese consumers with products they need and to make the Suzhou facility a world-class one."
Based in Santa Clara, California, the National Semiconductor Corporation, with 10,000 employees worldwide, supplies analog technology, cell phones, monitors and information systems. Last year, it recorded business turnover of US$1.5 billion, of which 45 percent came from Asian-Pacific markets including China. The company has set up representative offices in Beijing, Shanghai,Guangzhou and Hong Kong.
(People's Daily November 26, 2002)
