South Korean group Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is close to finalizing the choice of where its new $ 17 billion semiconductor plant will be built, possibly in Williamson County, Texas, sources who wanted to keep it told Reuters. anonymity.
Samsung officials told Reuters that they would continue the due diligence process (investigation / audit – no.) In multiple locations, and have not yet made a decision.
Earlier, the South Korean group announced that the new plant will employ about 1,800 employees and will produce advanced logic chips. Construction work is set to begin in January, and the first chips will be produced in 2024.
Even though no decision has been made officially, the Williamson County suburb of Austin, Texas has the best chance, thanks to the subsidies offered and the stable sources of water and electricity, the sources claim. Samsung also has a semiconductor factory in Austin and the storm at the beginning of the year caused the company damage estimated at 254 – 339 million dollars.
The new unit comes at a time when the global car industry is significantly affected by the chip deficit.
The world’s leading global contact chip manufacturers are TSMC (with a market share of 52.9%) and Samsung (with a market share of 17.3%), according to TrendForce.
Last month, Samsung announced that it would invest 240,000 billion won ($ 206 billion) over the next three years to expand into the post-pandemic era of biopharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence, semiconductors and robotics.
Samsung’s crown pearl, South Korea’s largest conglomerate, said investments by 2023 will help strengthen its global position in key industries, such as chip production, and allow the company to look for growth opportunities in the US. areas such as robotics and the next generation of telecommunications.
“The chip industry is vital to the country’s economy. Our aggressive investments are a survival strategy. Once we have lost our competitiveness, it is almost impossible to return, “the South Korean group said in a statement.
Samsung continues to benefit from the increase in internet traffic during the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), which has increased the demand for memory chips for servers and personal computers as more people work from home. Consumers have massively purchased consumer electronics, causing a shortage of semiconductors globally.
Analysts say the chip division has benefited from rising prices for memory chips, which exceeded market estimates, and increased deliveries. Also, production at its US plant, affected by bad weather, has returned to normal.
Samsung is the world’s largest manufacturer of memory chips and smart phones.
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