The Ukrainian computer assembly firm Kvazar-Micro has recently bought a 27% stake in the Kiev electronics plant Kwazar, where the company’s manufacturing facilities are situated. Kwazar was one of the largest manufacturers of integrated circuits in the Soviet Union but since Ukrainian independence in 1991, has depended on state subsidies to keep it going. From 1993 to 1994 Kvazar-Mikro was Intel Corp’s largest buyer of microprocessors in the former Soviet Union. Low Ukrainian customs tariffs and the absence of a controlled border between Russia and Ukraine meant Russian OEM customers could source microprocessors much more cheaply by buying from Kvazar-Mikro than by importing themselves. Despite the closing of this loophole, today Kvazar- Mikro still buys Intel products worth $8m per year.
