US tech firm Intel plans $1.6 bn investment in China

US microprocessor maker Intel plans to invest $1.6 billion over the next 15 years to upgrade an existing facility in China's western city of Chengdu, the company said in a statement provided to AFP on Thursday.

It it the company's latest move in China, after it said in September it would invest $1.5 billion in two Chinese cell phone component firms by acquiring a 20 percent stake in the holding company that owns Spreadtrum Communications and RDA Microelectronics.

The new investment will be for its assembly and testing facility in Chengdu, which Intel opened in 2005, the statement said. The factory packages and tests wafers which are used in electronics.

Intel was once the unquestioned leader in electronic parts when laptops led the market, but has lagged behind with the shift to mobile technologies.

In Chengdu, Intel also has another factory to manufacture microprocessors for computers, according to the company's website.