Report: Samsung to Pick Taylor, Texas, for its $17 Bln Chip Plant

The logo of Samsung is seen on a building during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain February 25, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman
The logo of Samsung is seen on a building during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain February 25, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman
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Report: Samsung to Pick Taylor, Texas, for its $17 Bln Chip Plant

The logo of Samsung is seen on a building during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain February 25, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman
The logo of Samsung is seen on a building during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain February 25, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Tuesday it had not made a final decision on the location of a new $17 billion chip plant in the United States, after the Wall Street Journal reported it would be Taylor, Texas.

The WSJ said Texas Governor Greg Abbott was scheduled to make an "economic announcement" on Tuesday.

A site in Texas's Williamson County, near the city of Taylor, offered the best incentives package of the sites Samsung was considering, sources previously told Reuters. The world's biggest memory chipmaker has said it is also considering sites in Arizona and New York.

The new plant is set to make advanced logic chips used to power mobile devices and autonomous vehicles, as the global auto industry faces a significant semiconductor shortage.

The factory would mark Samsung's second chip factory in Texas, where it already manufactures chips at a plant in Austin.

Samsung is joining rivals TSMC and Intel in the race to expand chip contract manufacturing in the United States, where the sector is seen as an area of strategic competition with China.

US President Joe Biden's administration has promised billions of dollars in federal funding to boost chip manufacturing and research to ensure it has an edge over China in advanced technologies and to address shortages for critical industries like autos.



Russian Fines Google $78 mln for Ignoring Previous Penalties

The logo for Google is seen at a Google store in Manhattan, New York City, US, November 17, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
The logo for Google is seen at a Google store in Manhattan, New York City, US, November 17, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
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Russian Fines Google $78 mln for Ignoring Previous Penalties

The logo for Google is seen at a Google store in Manhattan, New York City, US, November 17, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
The logo for Google is seen at a Google store in Manhattan, New York City, US, November 17, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

A Russian court fined Alphabet's Google 8 billion roubles ($77.9 million) on Tuesday for not complying with previous penalty orders, the Moscow courts press service said on Telegram.

Russia has for several years ordered foreign technology platforms to remove content it deems illegal, issuing small but persistent fines when it sees failures to comply. Tuesday's fine marked a significant increase on fines of around 4 million roubles that are usually levied.

The Chertanovo District Court in Moscow said Tuesday's fine had been issued for Google's failure to comply with an administrative punishment. It did not specify which administrative offence the fine was in relation too, Reuters reported.

YouTube has drawn particular ire for hosting content Moscow objects to. The video platform used to attract around 50 million daily users in Russia, but those numbers have dropped to around 12 million, according to Google data.

Critics accuse the Russian authorities of

deliberately disrupting

YouTube's download speeds to prevent Russians from viewing content there that is opposed to President Vladimir Putin and his government.

Russia denies that, saying the issues are caused by Google's failure to upgrade equipment - a charge disputed by the company and technology experts.

Putin in December accused Google of being a tool used by the US government to score political points.