Contract chip maker Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd. is in discussion with PC chipmaker AMD to make chips with more advanced technology, Chartered Semi said on Wednesday.

AMD competes with Intel making advanced chips that form the central “brains” of each PC, and uses Chartered as one of its manufacturing partners.

Intel has fought back recently to take back market share gains made by AMD over the last few years, raising concerns about the potential for negative impact to Chartered’s business.

Chartered now made chips for AMD using 65-nanometre technology, but was looking to move to even more advanced 45-nanometre technology in the partnership, said Chia Song Hwee, the Singapore-based company’s president and chief executive.

The smaller specification, which relates to the width of circuitry in chips, allows designers to create more powerful chips by packing more computing power into a given area.

“We are in discussion with (AMD), there’s no firm agreement yet,” Chia said at a Merrill Lynch technology conference in Taipei, referring to discussions to move to the 45-nanometre technology.

Chartered shares were unchanged in morning trading in Singapore.

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