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Samsung chip facility opens in Xi'an [China Daily: Hong Kong Edition](China Daily: Hong Kong Edition Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Plant is one of three major production bases in world for South Korean giant A Samsung Electronics Ltd memory chip project that cost $7 billion began operations on Friday in the Xi'an Hi-tech Development Zone in Shaanxi province. The project has about 230,000 square meters of floor space for the production of 10-nanometer NAND flash memory chips. A Samsung Electronics Ltd memory chip project that cost $7 billion began operations on Friday in the Xi'an Hi-tech Development Zone in Shaanxi province.The project has about 230,000 square meters of floor space for the production of 10-nanometer NAND flash memory chips. Provided to China Daily NAND stands for Not And Hard Drives, which are high-capacity, high-speed devices. Samsung Electronics will deepen pragmatic cooperation with Shaanxi province and the city of Xi'an and make greater contributions to China-South Korea economic and trade exchanges, said Kwon Oh-Hyun, chief executive officer and vice-president of Samsung. Samsung plans to complete the construction of a semiconductor packaging and testing plant by the end of 2014 to build a complete semiconductor production chain. Annual sales are estimated at 60 billion yuan ($9.63 billion) at full production levels. With the official opening of the project, Samsung has created a global semiconductor production system with three major production bases, one each in South Korea (systems and storage semiconductors), China (storage semiconductors) and the United States (systems semiconductors), Kwon said. Samsung signed a strategic agreement for the project with Shaanxi province on April 10, 2012 and construction began on Sept 12, 2012. The investment of $7 billion, which covers just the first phase of the facility, makes it the largest single foreign-invested project in China so far. Samsung said that it chose Xi'an because of the city's excellent investment environment and services, as well as its fast-developing electronics industry, a deep pool of researchers and a well-trained labor force from more than 100 research institutes and universities. Qiao Minwei, a university student in the city, said that he and his classmates welcomed the project, which offers a chance for employment. So far, Samsung has hired about 1,300 local university graduates for its Xi'an project. Zhao Zhengyong, secretary of the Party committee of Shaanxi, said that the project will make Xi'an the largest Samsung electronics production base in the world and enhance the reputation and performance of Samsung Electronics in the Chinese market. "Shaanxi will continue to support the development of Samsung Electronics in our province to achieve mutual benefit in wider fields and at higher levels," Zhao said. Du Yueping, professor at the Xidian (Electronics and Technology) University, said that Samsung's project would help Xi'an and Shaanxi play more important roles in the development of the Silk Road economic belt along the ancient Silk Road. President Xi Jinping proposed the Silk Road concept in September 2013 when he visited Central Asia, as a means to speed up cooperation between China and countries in Central Asia and Europe. Xi'an, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road established some 2,000 years ago as a trade channel linking China and Europe, sees the concept as a chance for its own development. Zhao Hongzhuan, the chief official (Party secretary) of the Xi'an Hi-tech Development Zone, said that electronic technology is a profitable industry in the development of the Silk Road economic belt and with Samsung's project. his zone will contribute more to the development. Contact the writers at [email protected] and [email protected] (China Daily 05/10/2014 page10) (c) 2014 China Daily Information Company. All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info, an Albawaba.com company |