Samsung Electronics is reportedly planning to increase its chip production capacity at its largest semiconductor plant, the P3 factory in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, next year, despite forecasts of an economic slowdown. The move stands in contrast to other chipmakers, such as Micron Technology and TSMC, which have scaled back investment amid falling demand and a glut of chips.

According to the Seoul Economic Daily, Samsung will add 12-inch wafer capacity for DRAM memory chips at the P3 factory, as well as additional 4-nanometer chip capacity for foundry contracts, which are chips produced according to clients’ designs. The P3 factory, which is Samsung’s largest chip manufacturing facility, began production of cutting-edge NAND flash memory chips this year and the company plans to add at least 10 extreme ultraviolet machines in the coming year.

Analysts have said that Samsung’s persistence with its investment plans will likely help the company take market share in memory chips and support its share price when demand recovers. In October, Samsung said it was not considering intentionally cutting chip production, defying the broader industry’s tendency to scale back output to meet mid- to long-term demand. “We plan to stand behind our original infrastructure investment plans,” said Han Jin-man, executive vice president of memory business at Samsung.

In contrast, Micron Technology said last week it would adjust down its investments in fiscal 2023 to between $7 billion and $7.5 billion, compared with $12 billion in fiscal 2022, and would also be “significantly reducing capex” plans in fiscal 2024. Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC also cut its 2022 annual investment budget by at least 10% in October and struck a more cautious note than usual on upcoming demand.

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