U.S. Chipmaker to Invest 500 B. Yen in Hiroshima Plant

Tokyo, May 18 (Jiji Press)--U.S. semiconductor maker Micron Technology Inc. said Thursday that it will invest up to 500 billion yen over the next several years to develop and make next-generation memory chips at its plant in Hiroshima, western Japan.

The plan was announced at a meeting between Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and senior officials of major foreign chipmakers in Tokyo.

South Korean's Samsung Electronics Co., for its part, explained its plan to establish a semiconductor research and development hub in Japan.

"We want to see foreign direct investment in Japan expand further and to provide support to the semiconductor industry," Kishida told the meeting.

Main agenda items in the three-day Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima from Friday include how to strengthen supply chains for strategic items such as semiconductors.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]