SEOUL (Reuters) – Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Wednesday said it will invest around 300 trillion won ($230 billion) by 2042 to develop what the government called the world’s largest chip-making base, in line with efforts to enhance South Korea’s chip industry.
The amount makes up most of the 550 trillion won in private-sector investment announced by the government on Wednesday, under a strategy that expands tax breaks and infrastructure support to increase the competitiveness of high-tech industries including those involving chips, displays and batteries.
Samsung’s manufacturing additions will include five chip factories and attract up to 150 materials, parts and equipment makers, fabless chipmakers and semiconductor research-and-development organisations, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement.
Other countries have announced plans to bolster domestic chip industries, including the United States which last month released details of its CHIPS Act, which offers billions of dollars in subsidies for chipmakers that invest in the country.
South Korea, home to the world’s two biggest memory chip makers, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix Inc, is seeking to improve supply-chain stability to become a major player in the non-memory chip field, currently dominated by chipmakers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd and Intel Corp.
($1 = 1,305.1200 won)
(Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
