September 30, 2005 - While Kodak restructures and both Sony and Sanyo cut back on costs, the South Korean electronic manufacturer Samsung is initiating its new investment plan announced yesterday.
Samsung says that over the next seven years, it will spent $33 billion on a new semiconductor R&D facility and eight new production lines. The company expects the investment move will bring 14,000 jobs to South Korea and $61 billion in revenue for Samsung. Samsung is already the world’s leading chip manufacturer, and its chips were responsible for two-thirds of its total operating profit of $1.58 billion from the second quarter of this year.
Analysts say that the investment move is a clear indication that the South Korean manufacturer plans to expand further into semiconducting technology, particularly non-memory semiconductors, even though many other chip manufacturers posted losses in the second quarter.
Samsung’s new R&D facility is slated to begin operation in May 2006.
