Intel readies move into Bangladesh

Wednesday evening, and Intel is hosting a party called Route 66 down at the Hilton, a block or two away from the convention centre and the scene, earlier on of AMD's Cheapzilla presentation. Unusually for Palm Springs, it's pelting down, so we sheltered under an awning which seemed to be, by some coincidence, remarkably close to the bar. We like these IDF parties because, after all, you get a chance to chat to some real developers, rather than just listening to what Intel wants to tell you. The spinolas came and tried to round us up to go to the Village Pub, but we shook them off. Got chatting to a Bangladeshi chap from a company which will be nameless, and he had a story to tell us about how he and Intel had attempted to set up a joint venture in Bangladesh, only for both parties to duck out when they were told they couldn't do so without a big fat bribe... That was a couple of years back, but in the meantime neither Intel nor this guy's company had given up and we can reveal that in just a few month's time, there will be a JV set up, this time in conjunction with the Bangladeshi foreign ministry. That, apparently, is the only way to do business there unless you're willing to fork out vast wedges of dosh just to scrape together a living. According to the CIA World Fact Book, Bangladesh has a population close to 130 million in an area which is only slightly larger than Wisconsin. So it sure does need that inward investment. ® Intel Developer Forum Q1 2000