INTEL TO CONTINUE OPERATIONS IN PENANG

PENANG (Malaysia), Feb 19 (Bernama) -- Leading U.S. chip manufacturer Intel
Corporation will continue to operate in northern state of Penang, Chief Minister
Lim Guan Eng said Thursday.

He said that only part of the company's operations would be relocated to the
Kulim Hi-tech Park, while the rest would continue operating in the state as a
research and development (R&D) centre.

"Intel has moved only 1,000 of its workers to Kulim," he told a news
conference at his office here.

It was reported last month that the company had planned to shut down two of
its existing assembly test facilities in Penang and Cavita, Phillipines, as part
of its plan to restructure some of its marketing operations in line with its
production capacity for the current market.

The shutdown would have caused 2,000 workers to be unemployed, it was also
reported.

However, in a statement, Lim denied the report, saying that the company was
only relocating the operations of the two factories to the Kulim Hi-tech Park
but admitting that a voluntary sSeverance Scheme (VSS) was offered to its
employees.
--BERNAMA