"We are open to set up a manufacturing base in India, although there are no immediate plans," Otellini told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with business leaders in India's financial hub Bombay.

He said India is already Intel's largest non-manufacturing base outside the United States, with a workforce that has grown from 100 to 1,000 in three years. It plans to raise this to 3,000.

Intel, which designs chips in India for switches and routers used in directing Internet traffic, also plans to start design work for its Pentium and Xeon processors in the country.

Otellini said India's IT industry would get a boost if the country quickly adopts to the wireless technology.

He said India has among the lowest level of hotspots -- or locations that allow wireless units to work -- in Asia and fewer than percent of the number found in China.

"Wireless technology is to network computing what cellular phones are to the telecommunications industry," Otellini said.

He said the global semi-conductor business is expected to grow five to 10 percent in 2003, adding "most manufacturers are forecasting personal computer business to grow by six to 10 percent and we do not argue that".

"We expect a seasonal year, which means the second half will be better than the first. More than that, we never forecast the actual numbers," he added.

Intel processors were selling better than usual for this time of year, he added.

Otellini is due to visit India's IT capital Bangalore Tuesday, where he will call on the Intel India Development Centre campus.

SPACE.WIRE