Samsung Electronics vice chairman Jay Y. Lee is visiting North America with a decision imminent on the company’s planned $17 billion U.S. chip plant.
Lee left Seoul on Sunday and his trip to Canada and the United States is expected to coincide with a decision on the location of the new plant, according to media reports.
A site in Texas’ Williamson County, near the city of Taylor, offered the better incentives package among various sites Samsung has been considering for the new chip plant that is set to make advanced logic chips, Reuters had previously reported.
Since Samsung vice chairman Kim Kinam confirmed the chip plant plan in May, Samsung has been comparing incentives and working out who pays what in convoluted land and other agreements, while also considering the available amount of stable utilities such as water and electricity.
Lee was convicted in January of bribery and embezzlement and sentenced to 30 months in jail – including a year served before his sentencing.
