ADVANCED Micro Devices Inc has expanded a chip assembly and test plant in Suzhou, which will contribute to half of its global production capacity by the end of this year.

"The investment represents our commitment to the China market and it will help us improve market response and meet the surging chip demand in the global market," said David Tang, AMD China's president, at the weekend.

The chipmaker didn't reveal the investment figure but Shanghai Daily learned that it invested US$300 million in the expansion, following an initial injection of US$100 million to build the factory in the Suzhou Industrial Park in Jiangsu Province in 2004.

AMD, the world's second biggest computer chipmaker, will assemble, test and package chips for CPU (central processing units), GPU (graphic processing units) and APU (accelerated processing units) in the Suzhou plant. AMD has sold over 30 million APU chips globally since the chip's debut last year, Tang said.

APU, a chip that integrates computer CPU and graphic chips, supports high-definition video playing.

Source:shanghaidaily