Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) will invest approximately $1.5 billion (about 2.2 trillion won) to build a semiconductor test plant in Vietnam.
According to Reuters on Thursday (local time), Samsung Electronics has started establishing the semiconductor test plant in an industrial complex located about 60 kilometers north of Hanoi, Vietnam, with operations scheduled to begin in November next year.
The plant will produce general-purpose chips and is expected to have an annual production capacity of 153.3 billion gigabytes (GB) of DRAM and 255.6 billion GB of NAND flash.
Samsung Electronics plans to reinvest profits generated from this plant of up to $2.5 billion (about 3.7 trillion won) and is considering establishing a second plant. About 200 engineers and staff are currently working on site, and large-scale construction equipment has been deployed, it was confirmed.
Reuters reported that "in Vietnam, it is common for companies to begin initial site work while waiting for environmental permits," adding that "it is unclear whether the plant has already secured all necessary permits and approvals, or whether discussions with local authorities are still ongoing."
Meanwhile, Vietnam has established itself as a semiconductor assembly, packaging and testing hub for global companies including Intel, Amkor and Hana Micron. Semiconductor testing is the final stage of chip manufacturing, a process to check assembled and packaged chips for defects before shipment.
