US chip giant Intel has won China's approval to build a $2.5 billion semiconductor plant, in what would be a major expansion of its presence in the country.
The integrated wafer plant in Dalian city in China's north-eastern Liaoning province will have a monthly capacity of 52,000 chips, China's National Development and Reform Commission said.
All funding for the plant will be raised by an Intel subsidiary, Intel Asia Holdings.
Intel, which has invested about $1 billion in China so far, already has big assembly and test operations in Shanghai and Chengdu, in the country's southwest.
With the construction of the factory Intel would join Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) and Hynix Semiconductor as one of the few foreign groups to produce chips in China, where intellectual property rights piracy issues abound. The chips made in Dalian will be some of the most advanced semiconductors manufactured in China.
