Samsung to open 6.5 billion dollars NAND flash production line in S Korea

Samsung Electronics said on Monday it will add a NAND flash production line in South Korea to meet the growing demand in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G-based technologies. The tech giant did not reveal how much money will be spent on the new line but industry insiders estimate it around $6.5 billion.

The world's largest memory chip maker said it plans to start mass production of the new line at its second chip fab, named P2, in Pyeongtaek - some 70 kms south of Seoul, in the second half of 2021.  The facility will produce Samsung's latest V-NAND memory.

A NAND chip is a non-volatile computer memory primarily used in memory cards and solid-state drive products.

"The new investment reaffirms our commitment to sustain undisputed leadership in memory technologies, even in uncertain times," said Choi Cheol, an executive vice president of memory global sales and marketing at Samsung.

Samsung has been the global leader in the NAND flash market since 2002.

In the first quarter of this year, the company held a 33.3 per cent share of the global market, according to industry researcher DRAMeXchange, far above Japan's Kioxia Corp that took a 19 per cent share.

Last July, the company mass-produced sixth-generation V-NAND memory that boasts a fast data transfer rate.

Samsung currently runs NAND flash production lines in Hwaseong and Pyeongtaek, both south of Seoul, as well as Xian, China.

Amid rising uncertainties due to the virus pandemic and renewed tensions between the US and China, Samsung has been reinforcing its efforts to expand its chip business, reports Yonhap news agency.

Last year, the South Korean tech titan unveiled a plan to become the world's No 1 logic chip maker by 2030 by investing 133 trillion won.