BEIJING (Reuters) -U.S. memory chipmaker Micron said on Friday it was committed to China and would invest 4.3 billion yuan ($603 million) over the next few years in its chip packaging facility in the Chinese city of Xian.
The company has been targeted by China’s cyberspace regulator, which last month said the firm, the United States’ biggest memory chipmaker, had failed a network security review and that the regulator would block operators of key infrastructure from buying from the company.
Micron made no mention of the review’s decision in its Friday statement, posted on WeChat.
“This investment projects demonstrates Micron’s unwavering commitment to its China business and team,” it quoted CEO Sanjay Mehrotra as saying.
The investment will include buying packaging equipment from a Xian-based subsidiary of Taiwan’s Powertech Technology Inc, which Micron has been using in the factory since 2016, the company said.
It will also open a new production line at the site to manufacture mobile DRAM, NAND and SSD products to strengthen the plant’s packaging and testing capabilities.
Micron and Powertech did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Micron did not disclose the value of the deal but said it would offer contracts to 1,200 employees of Powertech’s Xian subsidiary and that the investment would create an additional 500 jobs.
This would bring Micron’s workforce in China to more than 4,500 people, the company added.
($1 = 7.1337 yuan)
(Reporiting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Gerry Doyle)
