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Samsung begins $14.7 billion transition from smartphones to chips

October 6, 2014
Samsung is trying to move away from its heavy reliance on smartphone sales. (Courtesy of Samsung Electronics)

Samsung is trying to move away from its heavy reliance on smartphone sales. (Courtesy of Samsung Electronics)

By The Korea Times Los Angeles staff

Samsung Electronics Co. announced plans to build a $14.7 billion (15.6 trillion won) memory chip manufacturing plant in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Construction will begin in 2015 and the factory should be operating by 2017 according to a public statement.

The move signifies Samsung’s plans to decrease its reliance on its smartphone sales which is responsible for approximately 60% of its profits.

Although Samsung is still in the process of releasing their much-anticipated Galaxy Note 4 device, an influx of cheap and functionally comparable devices from China has damaged sales and produced a gloomy market trend for the once-dominant smartphone manufacturer.

With such a significant investment, Samsung hopes to maintain its status as the world’s leading manufacturer of dynamic random access memory chips, which are used in smartphones and computers.