Samsung chooses Japan for $280m chip packaging facility
South Korea's Samsung Electronics will spend USD 280 million over five years to build a new research and development facility for advanced semiconductors near Tokyo.
Representatives of the city of Yokohama confirmed they will provide Samsung with subsidies of up to USD 140 million to assist the project, according to Reuters.
Japanese politicians will see this deal as validation of their efforts to re-establish Japan as a powerhouse in the global semiconductor space. The country lost its historic place at the top of the world's electronics sector to China and Taiwan. But Japan is geographically and strategically well-placed to recover lost ground.
Earlier this year, the Japanese government promised to allocate USD 13 billion in subsidies to attract domestic and overseas companies.
This Samsung deal suggests the plan is working. The proposed Japanese facility will allow Samsung to strengthen its leadership in chips and partner with packaging-related companies based in Yokohama, the head of Samsung's chip business Kyung Kye-hyun said in the city's announcement.
Other inwards investments aided by the Japanese government include those by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) in Kumamoto Prefecture, Micron Technology in Hiroshima Prefecture and Western Digital in Mie Prefecture.
