Samsung Electronics has asked Texas state officials to give tax breaks for its potential new chip plant, raising speculation that the South Korean tech titan could make a big investment in the United States.
As per the Austin American-Statesman report, the world’s largest memory chipmaker has requested authorities in Texas to grant tax abatements over 20 years, which would be worth a total of $805.5 million, for its new $17 billion chip facility in Austin.
Samsung reportedly wanted tax breaks worth $718.3 million from Travis County and $87.2 million from the city of Austin.
According to reports submitted to state officials, Samsung will begin construction in the second quarter of this year and the new facility could be operational in the third quarter of 2023 if Austin is selected as the site for the new chip plant.
In addition, Samsung also said it is inspecting other sites in the US, including Arizona and New York, as well as South Korea, for its new chip plant project.
Samsung said it continued reviewing multiple sites for the project, but nothing has been confirmed. The company announced during a conference visit last month that it had not yet decided on a U.S. investment, although it agreed to expand its chip facilities.
Samsung already operates a chip factory in Austin, Texas, but the founding leader is working with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) to build another one to increase production.
In 2019, Samsung unveiled a plan to become the world’s topmost logic chipmaker by 2030, with an investment of 133 trillion won to increase competitiveness in the system chip and foundry businesses.
