Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is nearing the finalization of the building of its proposed $17 billion semiconductor plant in Williamson County, Texas, said reports quoting people with knowledge of the matter.
According to the news agency Reuters, the South Korean electronics giant is currently undertaking due diligence in various areas and has not yet made a final decision.
According to earlier submissions to state officials, Samsung had said that the plant would manufacture sophisticated logic semiconductor chips and will potentially employ more than 1,800 jobs.
Although no choice has been made yet by the company, reports quoted sources saying that the Austin suburb of Williamson County is at the top of the list for the company because of the incentives and subsidies being offered to the company as well as the possibility of dependable sources of power and water.
During the first quarter of the current year, a severe winter storm forced Samsung to temporarily shut down its chip facility in Austin that is already operational, causing wafer manufacturing to suffer losses of between 300 billion and 400 billion won ($254 million to $339 million).
The reports did not name any of the sources.
The construction of the new 6-million-square-foot (557,418-square-meter) factory was slated to start in January next year, Samsung had previously stated, and the company had set a target of commencing production at the facility by the end of 2024.
This move by the electronics giant coincides with the acute global shortage of semiconductors which has impacted a number of sectors such as auto companies and smartphone makers.
"With the United States turning semiconductors into a strategic material, it is becoming a risk to be concentrated only in Asia," said Park Sung-soon, an analyst at Seoul-based Cape Investment Securities.
"Samsung wants to be on the ground in the U.S.," Sung-soon added.
According to TrendForce, Samsung ranks second in the worldwide chip contract manufacturing sector after TSMC, which has 52.9 per cent of the market share compared to Samsung's 17.3 per cent as of end-June.
(Source:www.economictimes.com)
According to the news agency Reuters, the South Korean electronics giant is currently undertaking due diligence in various areas and has not yet made a final decision.
According to earlier submissions to state officials, Samsung had said that the plant would manufacture sophisticated logic semiconductor chips and will potentially employ more than 1,800 jobs.
Although no choice has been made yet by the company, reports quoted sources saying that the Austin suburb of Williamson County is at the top of the list for the company because of the incentives and subsidies being offered to the company as well as the possibility of dependable sources of power and water.
During the first quarter of the current year, a severe winter storm forced Samsung to temporarily shut down its chip facility in Austin that is already operational, causing wafer manufacturing to suffer losses of between 300 billion and 400 billion won ($254 million to $339 million).
The reports did not name any of the sources.
The construction of the new 6-million-square-foot (557,418-square-meter) factory was slated to start in January next year, Samsung had previously stated, and the company had set a target of commencing production at the facility by the end of 2024.
This move by the electronics giant coincides with the acute global shortage of semiconductors which has impacted a number of sectors such as auto companies and smartphone makers.
"With the United States turning semiconductors into a strategic material, it is becoming a risk to be concentrated only in Asia," said Park Sung-soon, an analyst at Seoul-based Cape Investment Securities.
"Samsung wants to be on the ground in the U.S.," Sung-soon added.
According to TrendForce, Samsung ranks second in the worldwide chip contract manufacturing sector after TSMC, which has 52.9 per cent of the market share compared to Samsung's 17.3 per cent as of end-June.
(Source:www.economictimes.com)
