IBM to Build, Expand Plants:

Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM Corp. said it will invest $5 billion globally to build and expand chip-making plants to meet expected demand for semiconductors. The investment, to be made over the next two to three years, includes building a chip factory in East Fishkill, N.Y., that IBM said will be the world’s most technologically advanced. The $2.5-billion plant is scheduled to open in 2002. Under the program, IBM’s chip plants in Essex Junction, Vt., and Yasu, Japan, will be expanded. Capacity also will be expanded at Altis Semiconductor, a joint venture between IBM and a Siemens chip-making unit in France.