China: Intel buys stake in chip makers

INTEL would pay up to $1.5 billion (R16.8bn) for a 20 percent stake in Chinese chip makers Spreadtrum Communications and RDA Microelectronics, the companies said on Friday. The firms are controlled by Tsinghua Unigroup, a state-owned company funded by Tsinghua University in Beijing. The companies said Spreadtrum and Intel would create a new family of chips for cellphones. Those chips should be available in the second half of next year. Intel is attempting to become a tougher competitor in the mobile microchip business and is also pushing for a larger share of China’s growing market for mobile devices as the popularity of smartphones and tablets leads to sales declines for traditional personal computers, Intel’s main business for years. – Sapa-AP