Intel said to represent half Costa Rica's GDP
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Costa Rica should post gross domestic product growth of 8.3 percent in 1999, almost half of which will come from computer component exports, mostly by American chip giant Intel Corp, the Central American country's central bank said on Thursday.
``The export sector has had very favorable growth, particularly in microcomponents, that will represent almost half the 8.3 percent growth this year,' Central Bank President Eduardo Lizano told a news conference.
Intel (NasdaqNM:INTC - news), based in Santa Clara, Calif., operates a $500 million plant at La Ribera de Belen, about 12 miles (20 km) northwest of the capital, producing Pentium II microprocessors. It opened in March 1998.
Costa Rica's economy grew 6.2 percent in 1998. Lizano forecast growth of some 6.0 percent in 2000, reflecting slower growth in chip exports, compared with 1999, but still spurred by internal demand and expansion of private-sector credit. |
