By Gabby Chen

(JW Insights) Apr 9 -- US chip giant Intel kicked off operation of a subsidiary - Intel Integrated Circuit (Hainan) - in China's tropical tax-free tourist destination Sanya, southern China's Hainan Province, announced the Department of Commerce of Hainan Province (HNDOC) on April 9 via its WeChat official account.

The new IC unit will provide services for distribution and settlement of cross-border software and hardware products, system integration, talent training, and equity investment. The company is based in Sanya Central Business District, which is one of the key parks of Hainan Free Trade Port, according to HNDOC.

Intel China registered Intel Integrated Circuit (Hainan) last December with a registered capital of $35 million, according to Tianyancha, a provider of Chinese corporation data and due diligence platform, reported Yicai Global.

The Hainan government believes that Intel's settlement in the province will attract more industry leaders and promote the industrial integration and development of Hainan's zero tariff free trade port.

As the world's largest chipmaker and a Fortune 500 company, Intel set up Intel China in Shanghai in 1994. It has units in Beijing, Dalian, Chengdu, and Xi’an. With over 12,000 employees in the country, Intel has already invested about $13 billion in China.

In 2022, Intel China's revenue accounted for 27% of its global total, as China became the company's largest regional market outside the US in terms of investment and comprehensive organizational structure, said the Yicai Global report.