German semiconductor giant Infineon Technologies yesterday opened its first Asian chip plant in Kedah after an investment worth one billion dollars (RM3.7 billion).

The factory in an industrial park in the district of Kulim, Kedah will produce power and logic chips used in industrial and automotive power applications, with a maximum capacity of 100,000 wafer starts per month.

"Our new fab in Kulim is a strategic investment in our future and an opportunity to address the worlds growing demand for more efficient power controls in industrial, computing and household appliances," Infineon president and CEO Wolfgang Ziebert said in a statement.

Commissioned at the end of 2004, with ground-breaking in February 2005, the plant was completed in 12 months. It will employ some 1,700 workers.

Has plant in M'sia since 1973

The Kulim facility will complement Infineon's power semiconductor production bases in Europe, which include sites in Austria and Germany.

Infineon has had a presence in Malacca since 1973, where it has a plant to assemble and test chips, a company spokesperson said.

Malaysian Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz, on hand to launch the plant in Kulim, said Infineon's presence in the country had already attracted other semiconductor companies.

"(We) are currently negotiating with and persuading other MNCs (multi-national companies) establish their operation in Malaysia as a result of the success of Infineon," she said in a text of her remarks made available to AFP .