Chartered says it may build plants in China

Some investors say the entry of Chartered and other chipmakers may aggravate the problem.

"Each time a company expands into China, they don't usually shut down production elsewhere, so that increases the capacity and pricing will remain weak in the semiconductor field," Faber said.

For Chartered, the Chinese alliance will also give its customers access to capacity in China, the company said, complementing the five Singapore plants.