Samsung opens $7 billion NAND flash fab in China

Samsung opens a $7 billion NAND flash memory production plant in Xi'an, China. The factory spans 230,000 square meter is anticipated to produce nearly $10 billion worth of 10nm NAND flash memory chips per year. Samsung Electronics, Co., Ltd., a global leader in memory semiconductor technology, today announced that its memory fabrication line in Xi'an China has begun full-scale manufacturing operations.

The new facility will manufacture Samsung's advanced NAND flash memory chips: 3D V-NAND. Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman and CEO Dr. Oh-Hyun Kwon hosted a plant inauguration event, which welcomed a large number of attendees including government dignitaries such as Zhao Zhengyong, Secretary of Communist Party of China Committee of Shaanxi province, Lou Qinjian, Governor of Shaanxi province, and Young-se Kwon, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the People's Republic of China. Other honored attendees included Samsung suppliers and customers.

Construction of the new manufacturing facility took only 20 months since Samsung broke ground here in September, 2012. The total area of the facility is approximately 230,000 square meters, situated on 1.14 million square meters of land. In remarks delivered during the ceremony, Dr. Kwon said, "The city of Xi'an was the starting point of the Silk Road, which had performed a key role in bridging cultures from the East and the West. We expect that our new facility in Xi'an - the fruit of close cooperation with China, will mark the crowning of a 21st century Silk Road."

Shaanxi province governor Lou Qinjian congratulated Samsung at the event, noting that the new Xi'an fab highlights the special partnership and efficient cooperation between China and Korea, as he also promised the province's ongoing support.

By commencing operations of its Xi'an fabrication line, Samsung has secured a solid memory production base in China, a market where approximately 50 percent of global NAND flash is generated from production bases operated by many IT companies here. It is also laying the foundation for a more stable supply of memory products to its customers.

Samsung plans to complete construction of its entire Xi'an complex, which includes an assembly facility and test line, by the end of this year.