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Dubai: When Intel chairman Craig Barrett was asked if he was interested in pursuing strategic investments from sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), similar to a deal made by arch-rival chip manufacturer AMD with Abu Dhabi's Mub-adala, his response was simple: We don't need the cash.
"We are not a cash poor company if you look at our history over the last several years," he said. "In fact, we've been returning cash to our shareholders. The AMD investment was because of AMD's recent competitive performance."
Barrett said Intel's cash reserves are currently enough for its internal cash needs. When asked if Intel was using its market position to take advantage of AMD, Barrett said it was a case of textbook econ-omics and the best product wins in a competitive marketplace.
"The microprocessor business is very predict-able," he said. "If you have good products in the market and you can make them, you're successful. If you don't, you're not successful."
While Intel doesn't need the money, both Barrett and Samir Al Schamma, Intel's regional general manager, said the company is looking for opportunities for joint ventures with other companies in the region.
Barrett, who has been with the company since 1974 and held the position of chairman since 1995, said there are also no plans for opening a chip fabrication plant in the region, a development which has been widely rumoured over the last year. He said that while the company does open a new plant about every other year, the competition for those plants is tight. He said that low tax rates, government grants and other incentives played heavily into the decision on where to locate a new plant.
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