South Korea’s Samsung is considering setting up a chip test line in Japan, five people said, to boost its advanced packaging business and build closer ties with Japanese makers of semiconductor equipment and materials.
This will be the first such test line in Japan for Samsung, the world’s largest manufacturer of memory chips. It also comes as the United States is increasingly urging allies to work together to counter China’s growing strength in chips and advanced technology.
Japan said on Friday it would restrict the export of 23 types of chip-making equipment, aligning its technology trade controls with US pressure to curb China’s ability to make advanced chips.
Samsung is considering setting up the facility in Kanagawa Prefecture, next to Tokyo, where it already has a research and development (R&D) center, according to four people, all of whom declined to be identified because The information is not public.
While details including timing have not been finalized yet, one of the people said the investment would likely be $75 million (about Rs 615 crore).
Samsung wants to deepen cooperation with Japanese companies, the two people said. Japan is attractive because of relatively low labor costs and the presence of leading chip equipment and materials makers, which allows Samsung access to the local “ecosystem,” one of them said.
However, one of the people said the discussions are still in the early stages, adding that the South Korean company is considering various options and nothing has been decided.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
