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.



Decision on Digital Pound over Two Years Away, Bank of England Says

A view of the Bank of England and the financial district, in London, Britain, September 23, 2024. REUTERS/Mina Kim/File Photo
A view of the Bank of England and the financial district, in London, Britain, September 23, 2024. REUTERS/Mina Kim/File Photo
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Decision on Digital Pound over Two Years Away, Bank of England Says

A view of the Bank of England and the financial district, in London, Britain, September 23, 2024. REUTERS/Mina Kim/File Photo
A view of the Bank of England and the financial district, in London, Britain, September 23, 2024. REUTERS/Mina Kim/File Photo

No decision will be made for at least a couple of years on whether Britain will go ahead with a central bank digital currency for the general public, the Bank of England said on Tuesday, pushing back the timeline for the project.

Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak championed the idea of a digital currency in 2021 when he was finance minister, but the BoE and the current government have been more reluctant and a public consultation attracted widespread privacy concerns.

Governor Andrew Bailey said in October that a central bank digital currency was "not my preferred option" but might be needed if British banks did not ensure their payment systems were more attractive than those offered by less regulated tech companies, Reuters reported.

The BoE said on Tuesday it was starting work with Britain's finance ministry on a potential design for a digital currency, in line with plans in a previous consultation.

"After completing the design phase over the next couple of years, including taking account of developments in the wider payments landscape, the Bank and government will assess the policy case for a digital pound and determine whether or not to proceed," the BoE said.

In January 2024, the BoE said a decision on whether to go ahead with a digital currency would not be made before 2025 at the earliest.

Britain's government has said a digital pound would be private but not anonymous, unlike physical cash.

As with existing bank accounts and credit card payments, authorities would be able to track transactions they suspect involve money laundering or finance terrorism.

"This legislation would safeguard users' privacy, guaranteeing that neither the Bank nor the government could access users' personal information nor control how households and businesses use their money," the BoE said.