Washington, Feb 22: International chip giant manufacturer, Intel, had decided to build a new fabricating plant in India making an initial investment to the tune of $100 million in the project, media reports said on Friday.

"Intel had already invested in a chip design facility in India to the tune of $100 million and the company is known to have spent much more than that in the world's most populous democracy," according to the 'Inquirer'. The news would dash any remaining hopes Australia had that it might somehow persuade Intel to build the Fab there, it said.


The combined factors of low labour costs, high skill rates and favourable government would all have played a part, it added.


The choice of India is not too surprising. Several other countries had courted Intel, most noticeably China. India's more open form of government would have weighed heavily against China, the Inquirer said. "Building a Fab is a hugely expensive venture, the new facility is likely to cost more than $2 billion to put together," it said. Bureau Report