AMD in trouble over Greater China chip export plan

CHIP FIRM Advanced Micro Devices (ticker: AMD) is facing a problem over its plans to use Singapore-based Chartered Semiconductor in the lead up to an election in which Gerhard Schroeder, the German chancellor, may be toppled.

According to Der Spiegel, AMD has hoped for months for the German government to approve its plans to use Chartered as a second source foundry. It wanted the German government to give its official approval to the plan, and has wanted to do so for quite some time now.

But in the run up to an election in which Schroeder may lose his Chancellor's spurs, the deputies and the functionaries in the German parliament seem reluctant to give AMD the nod.

That, according to sources, led to AMD's Hector Ruiz phoning up Herr Schroeder last week. But Schroeder is reluctant to take any action right now, and the functionaries, that is to say, civil servants, won't give their approval because pretty soon they might all have a new boss.

From left to right: Steve Ballmer, Gerhard Schroeder. And
two other people at CeBIT a bit ago. What's wrong with all of their arms?

The German government, and the state Saxony government, have sponsored AMD to the tune of many millions of Euros for its plans and future plans in Dresden. Which is why they need approval to ship tech in Dresden out to the Far East.

Some mystery seems to surround Singapore based Chartered, however, Spiegel claims. Although 60 per cent of the foundry is owned by the country, it's hard to pin down who owns the rest, Der Spiegel reports.

It claims that Herr Schroeder wanted to waive the arms embargo against Communist China. But whether these two things are connected, who knows? We certainly don't. We do know, and have reported on it in the past, that the Chinese government thought DEC Alpha's processor was fabtastic.

One thing is for sure. The German government and to a lesser extent the European Parliament have to give approval to the export of such tech to Singapore. And that approval is long in coming. No one at AMD was available for comment at press time. µ

* MEANWHILE according to German speaking publication Sonntags Blick today, AMD 64 technology in the shape of "superchips" are being used by the Communist Chinese in their war effort. According to this tabloid: "American superchips will be manufactured in Singapore and China's army will benefit from the move," in a story it highlights in its business pages as a scandal.

L'INQ
Der Spiegel
BBC profile: Gerhard Schroeder The INQ is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

See Also
European Union gives big subsidy to AMD, Infineon
Chartered to make AMD64 microprocessors
Government votes money for AMD fab
AMD claims government support avoids I-word
AMD gets go-ahead on Dresden fab plan
The strange case of the screaming cowboy, the wreath, and AMD's Dresden fab
Schroeder decries welfare at CeBIT
AMD could help speed nuclear holocaust
How to cook an egg on a Pentium II Delia Moore's Law
US technology companies helping to fuel their own destruction