April 6, 2004 – Memo from CEO Craig Barrett: Don’t expect Intel to curb spending on manufacturing and R&D any time soon. Quoted by Dow Jones, Barrett told attendees at a tech forum in Taiwan to expect “massive R&D investments and the same big investments in manufacturing capacity that we’ve done in the past.” Intel’s 2004 capital spending is projected at $3.6-$4.0 billion, roughly flat with last year, while R&D investments are pegged at about $4.8 billion. Barrett is scheduled to retire in May 2005, in accordance with company bylaws.

Also, Barrett indicated Intel will have a WAPI-enabled version of its chips ready by June 1, roughly the deadline laid out by the Chinese government. China’s Wi-Fi standard has drawn anti-competitive fire from Intel and Broadcom, among others. Reuters quoted Barrett as saying the company still plans to sell its Centrino chips up until June 1, and “hopefully, we’ll get the issue resolved by then.”