"We have set ourselves ambitious goals in China and are confident that we can achieve them," chairman Ulrich Schumacher said in a statement.

"In the next five years we aim to double our market share in China from its current 5.0 percent to 10 percent," he added in a speech prepared for delivery at a news conference held to mark the opening of Infineon's new Chinese headquarters in Pudong, Shanghai.

The German computer chip giant would focus mainly on memory chips and secure mobile solutions in China, with a goal of grabbing a 40-percent share of the market for memory chips, Schumacher said, without giving a timeframe.

Infineon would continue to look for new partners and to set up joint ventures in China, he said.

"Joint ventures for front-end and back-end production in China are strategic steps that set us apart from our competitors. And they will greatly contribute to ensuring we succeed in our goal to achieve a greater market share," Schumacher said.

The Chinese semiconductor market is expected to triple in size to more than 80 billion dollars by 2007, Infineon said, quoting forecasts by market research firm iSuppli.

SPACE.WIRE