Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Samsung Electronics close to finalising $17 billion Texas chip plant -sources

Published 09/28/2021, 11:26 PM
Updated 09/29/2021, 06:07 AM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Samsung Electronics is pictured at the company's factory in Tijuana, Mexico, June 1, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Duenes/File Photo

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Samsung Electronics is pictured at the company's factory in Tijuana, Mexico, June 1, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Duenes/File Photo

By Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Jin

SEOUL/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is close to finalising the construction of a $17 billion semiconductor factory in Williamson County in the U.S. state of Texas, three people with knowledge of the matter said.

Samsung (KS:005930) told Reuters that it is continuing due diligence in multiple locations, and that it has yet to make a decision.

The factory will make advanced logic semiconductor chips and is likely to create about 1,800 jobs, Samsung previously said in filings to state officials.

One of the people said though no decision has been made, the Austin suburb of Williamson County is the frontrunner due to the subsidies on offer as well as the likelihood of stable sources of electricity and water.

A winter storm shutdown at Samsung's existing chip plant in Austin during the first quarter caused the equivalent of 300 billion to 400 billion won ($254 million to $339 million) of damage to wafer production.

All three people declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak with media.

Samsung previously said it would start construction on the new 6-million-square-foot (557,418-sq-meter) plant in January, with production up and running by the end of 2024.

The plan comes at a time when the global auto industry faces a significant semiconductor shortage.

"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."

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Samsung Electronics is pictured at the company's factory in Tijuana, Mexico, June 1, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Duenes/File Photo

In the global chip contract manufacturing industry, Samsung is second to TSMC which had 52.9% of market share compared to Samsung's 17.3% as of end-June, according to analysis provider TrendForce.

($1 = 1,179.6200 won)

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.