Samsung eyes Texas for chip-making plant

SAN FRANCISCO — Electronics giant Samsung is considering the US state of Texas as a possible location for a new $17 billion chip-making plant, according to filings with state officials.

The project would involve building a huge new semiconductor factory on a 258 hectares site in the city of Austin already owned by Samsung, and result in the creation of at least 1,800 high-paying jobs, documents available on Friday indicated.

A Samsung subsidiary cautioned in the filings that the project is "highly competitive" and that the company is also considering sites in Arizona, New York, and in South Korea, where its parent company is based.

If Austin is selected, construction would likely begin by the middle of this year and be operating by the end of 2023, according to Samsung.

"Because of its strong ties to the local community and the successful past 25 years of manufacturing in Texas, Samsung Austin Semiconductor would like to continue to invest in the city and the state," the company said in filings.

Samsung Electronics, the world's biggest smartphone and memory chip maker, recently reported fourth-quarter net profits were up by more than a quarter year-on-year with coronavirus-driven working from home boosting demand for devices powered by its chips.

It said profits were lifted by its display and memory chip businesses.

The global chip-manufacturing industry is expected to see record revenue this year, with the stay-at-home economy persisting because of the pandemic, according to Taipei-based market tracker TrendForce.

Samsung has aggressively stepped up its investments in semiconductors in recent years.

While US-based Intel remains one of the world's leading chip companies, it has lagged behind rivals in the fast-growing segment of mobile devices, and its chips are being phased out by Apple, which is developing its own microprocessors for its Mac computers.