Samsung likely to announce site of 2nd chip factory in U.S. soon

SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Group's de facto leader Lee Jae-yong has met with U.S. government officials and lawmakers, and discussed the second chip plant and semiconductor supply issues, a company official said Sunday.

The meetings fueled expectations Samsung Electronics Co. could announce the site for its second U.S. chip fabrication plant this week when Lee returns from his business trip to North America.

Samsung Electronics has a chip manufacturing plant in Austin, Texas. The city of Taylor, also in Texas, is considered the most likely candidate for the second plant.

The official did not provide any further details of the meetings and declined to comment on the U.S. investment.

Last week, Lee had meetings with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and other executives from U.S. tech firms for a possible future business partnership in next-generation technologies, like virtual and augmented reality, the Samsung official.

Lee also met with leaders of U.S. biotech firm Moderna Inc. and Verizon Wireless to strengthen their business ties in vaccines and wireless network services, respectively.

Samsung Biologics Co., the biotech arm of Samsung Group, signed a deal with Moderna in May to "support the production of hundreds of millions of doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine intended for the supply of markets outside of the U.S." The company has been producing the vaccine since October.

In August, Samsung Group said it will invest a total of 240 trillion won (US$205 billion) in the chip and bio industries over the next three years in a move to secure future growth engines and expand technology leadership in the post COVID-19 era.

The conglomerate said the investment will be spent to foster its strategic businesses, including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, next-generation communication networks and IT research, though it did not provide a breakdown of the investments.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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