Intel to Develop Software in Brazil to Beat Language Barrier

Intel Corp. (INTC), the world’s largest chipmaker, plans to develop software in Brazil to overcome language barriers and meet rising local demand for computers, Steve Long, the company’s general director for Latin America said.

“We’ll invest in Brazil’s software area in the short term,” Long, 36, said in an interview at Bloomberg’s Sao Paulo office today. “Possibly by the end of the year we’ll have some investments and much more next year.”

The Santa Clara, California-based company plans to tap into Brazil’s supply of programmers to write local-language software, Long said. Intel researchers who visited Brazil were satisfied with the talent available at local universities, he said.

Intel expects to double revenue in Brazil in the next five years as an expanding economy fuels demand for personal computers and data centers, he said. Brazil’s gross domestic product will grow 4 percent this year, according to a central bank survey, after a 7.5 percent expansion in 2010.

While Intel doesn’t disclose how much revenue comes from Brazil, the Americas region accounted for 20 percent of sales last year.

Intel gained 8 cents to $21.46 at 3:28 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. It had risen 1.7 percent this year before today.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jose Sergio Osse in Sao Paulo at josse1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Francisco Marcelino mdeoliveira@bloomberg.net Tom Giles in San Francisco at Tgiles5@bloomberg.net

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June 13 (Bloomberg) -- Steven Long, director general for Latin America at Intel Corp., talks about Intel's plans to invest in Brazil's software segment to help meet demand. Long speaks with Bloomberg's Jose Sergio Osse in Sao Paulo. (This report is in Portuguese. Source: Bloomberg)