"Not Decided Yet"... Samsung, Where Will the $20 Billion Semiconductor Plant in the US Be Built?

Samsung Electronics to Invest $17 Billion in Foundry
"Negotiations Underway... Final Decision May Come by Late Summer"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Samsung Electronics announced that it will make an investment of $17 billion (approximately 20 trillion KRW) in the United States but did not disclose the specific location of the investment, which had attracted much attention. It was expected that the company would mention the site when announcing the investment plan, as it had been reviewing new and expanded factory locations among Texas, Arizona, and New York, and negotiating with local governments. However, the final decision was not made, and the timing of the location disclosure has been postponed.

According to industry sources and foreign media on the 21st (local time), Samsung Electronics announced that it will invest $17 billion to build a new foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) factory in the U.S. to meet domestic foundry demand. Since the second half of last year, Samsung Electronics has been reviewing plans for new and expanded foundry factories in the U.S. Subsequently, it negotiated with places like Austin regarding tax incentives and first disclosed the investment scale.

The most notable part of this investment announcement was the decision on the location of the new foundry factory investment. As this is a large-scale investment creating nearly 2,000 jobs, candidate sites such as Texas, Arizona, and New York have been actively courting Samsung Electronics. However, Samsung Electronics stated that the review is still ongoing and the final decision is expected to be made around late summer, according to the local foreign media Buffalo Business First.

Michelle Glaze, Samsung Electronics’ Austin plant PR representative, told local media, "As part of efforts to effectively respond to the needs of global customers and the increasing demand for various applications, Samsung Electronics plans to invest $17 billion to expand foundry operations in the U.S. We are negotiating the expansion of semiconductor manufacturing facilities considering various factors and are looking at several locations in the U.S. Specific details have not yet been decided," she said.

Samsung Electronics Austin Factory, USA

Currently, the most likely candidate site is Austin, Texas. Samsung Electronics already has a semiconductor factory there and has secured the land in advance. This year, Samsung Electronics submitted a letter of intent to Texas state and Austin city requesting tax reductions totaling $805.47 million over the next 20 years as a condition for the $17 billion semiconductor factory expansion investment and is conducting detailed negotiations.

Another candidate, Arizona, is considered less likely to be selected due to the recent failure of an auction for land expected to be used for the factory site. On the 19th, the Arizona State Land Department held an auction for land designated as a foreign trade zone in Goodyear and Queen Creek, but it failed. This was the second auction after a previous failure last month, but no bidders appeared. The next auction is scheduled for June 10.

New York State is also making efforts to attract Samsung Electronics’ factory. According to foreign media, Genesee County in New York is reportedly offering tax incentives exceeding $900 million through facility construction subsidies, job creation grants, and reductions in water and electricity costs. Chuck Schumer, the U.S. Senate Majority Leader from the Democratic Party representing New York, emphasized to foreign media, "There is no better location than the STAMP industrial park in western New York for Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor factory site."

Meanwhile, Moon Seung-wook, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, met with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo after the 'Korea-U.S. Business Roundtable' on the same day and requested support for investment incentives such as tax and infrastructure for domestic companies promising large-scale investments in the U.S. Accordingly, attention is focused on whether the incentive negotiations related to Samsung Electronics’ new foundry factory can accelerate.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.