Samsung start production at Pyeongtaek chip line

SEOUL, July 4 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday it has started full-fledged chip production at its Pyeongtaek plant and announced it will continue making more investments to expand its output capacity.

The announcement came two years after the South Korean tech giant started the construction project in May 2015. The new Pyeongtaek facility, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, is the biggest of its kind in the country, Samsung added.

Samsung said the new line will focus on producing fourth-generation V-NAND products.

On the expansion, the company said some 30 trillion won (US$26 billion) will be spent on the Pyeongtaek production line through 2021, along with 6 trillion won on another chip production line located in Hwaseong, southwest of the capital city.

The company said the investment came as the global IT industry has been suffering from a shortage of computer chips. The demand for high-end chips will continue to increase following the development of the big data, artificial intelligence and automotive industries, it added.

Samsung said it is considering building an additional chip production line in Xian, China, to meet rising demand for NAND flash products in Asia's largest economy.

Samsung Display Co., meanwhile, is also considering establishing a new production line for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) products in Asan of South Chungcheong Province.

colin@yna.co.kr
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