Expected to Announce Site for US$17bn Foundry
Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong is scheduled to embark on a business trip to the United States in November. The head of Samsung Electronics is likely to announce the site for Samsung Electronics' second foundry in the United States during this business trip.
Samsung Electronics announced in May that it would establish a second semiconductor plant in the United States by investing US$17 billion.
Currently, Taylor City, Texas, is the front-runner among the five candidate sites. The Taylor City Council recently passed a resolution to support Samsung Electronics with tax benefits, completing the administrative procedures related to providing incentives to attract Samsung’s investment.
During the business trip, Lee is expected to visit Samsung's first foundry in Austin of Texas and meet with clients. Samsung’s key customers, including Nvidia and Qualcomm, are located around the Austin foundry.
Lee is currently on parole but has no problem in making overseas business trips. The Ministry of Justice said Lee has no problem in acting as a major shareholder of Samsung Electronics and needs not to report to government authorities an overseas business trip that takes less than a month.