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| The appearance of the Samsung logo on the Samsung Electronics Seocho building. (News1 DB) 2021.1.8/News1 © News1 Park Ji-hye |
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 22nd (local time) that South Korea’s Samsung Electronics is investing up to $17 billion (about 18 trillion won) to build a semiconductor plant in Texas, Arizona or New York.
As the site of the new semiconductor factory, Samsung Electronics has two in mind, near Phoenix in Arizona and Austin, in Texas, and an industrial complex in Genesh County in western New York, WSJ cited, citing a company insider familiar with the matter.
An important variable in the investment plan will depend on what incentives the US federal government will offer, the official told WSJ. This investment by Samsung came as the US tried to increase its semiconductor production capacity and reduce its dependence on Asian countries such as Taiwan, China, and Korea, WSJ evaluated.
According to a letter exchanged between Samsung Electronics and Goodyear (Arizona) city authorities examined by WSJ, Samsung plans to hire 1,900 people with the goal of operating the plant in October 2022. For large industrial projects, the City of Goodyear usually provides incentives such as tax masks and infrastructure expansion.
The US does not give preference to building a semiconductor factory at the federal level. However, in the aftermath of the pandemic, some automobile production is also delayed due to a shortage of semiconductors around the world, and exceptional incentives can be expected.
The pandemic has disrupted the global supply chain that will secure the strategic components required for numerous core technologies, from next-generation 5G smartphones to fighters.
This is empowering the voice of the US to strengthen its national power by producing strategically important products in-house. The WSJ reported that semiconductors are also included in the national core industry for the defense authorization legislation passed by the Congress in January.
According to Boston Consulting, as Asia has emerged as a semiconductor production base over the past decade, the US share of semiconductor production has decreased to 12%, WSJ pointed out. WSJ emphasized that new financial support is important for the US to regain the Asian-centered semiconductor industry.
Earlier, Bloomberg reported that Samsung Electronics plans to expand its semiconductor plant in Texas by investing more than 10 billion dollars.