Samsung Electronics is one of the largest known brands for consumer-grade products. However, most are unaware of the South Korean tech giant’s actual size and scale of operations which also includes chip manufacturing processes for other smartphone OEMs. Now, the company is expected to further invest an extra $8 billion in its chipmaking factory in Xi’an, China.

According to a new report, Samsung will increase the investment in the Chinese chip factory to boost the production of NAND flash memory chips. It is speculated that the large investment follows after the company predicts a surge in demand for memory to rebound next year due to limited supplies alongside rising demands for fifth-generation networks and devices.

Currently, Samsung is the world’s largest producer of NAND flash memory chips which are capable of holding data indefinitely and are found in smartphones, USB pen drives, and various types of memory cards. Back in 2017, the company was to invest $7 billion over the course of three years in its Xi’an plant that produces such NAND flash memory chips. This investment followed a $10.8 billion which Samsung had already invested earlier for a testing and packaging plant in Xi’an.

Samsung’s dominance in the NAND flash memory market is evident with many competitors still seeking to rival the South Korean giant. However, none have been as successful in the overseas market as Samsung has. Known competitors include South Korea’s SK Hynix, US-based Micron Technology Inc, and Toshiba Corp group.

Samsung RAM chips
Samsung RAM chips

The new investment raise from Samsung indicates of the ever-growing smartphone industry. Furthermore, new generation devices with faster memory and processing are expected to make a breakthrough in the market in the near future as well. Thus, Samsung has already started preparing with a large extra investment. Notably, examples of other areas that are expected to be hit with high demand in 2020 include the camera lens module of smartphones.

 

(Via)