South Korea on Wednesday approved Samsung Electronics' plan to build a new plant in China to produce high-tech memory chips used in tablets and smartphones, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said. Following the approval, the world's largest memory chip maker will select a site for the plant and seek Chinese government permission with a view to starting production in 2013, the ministry said in a statement.
South Korean firms need government approval when they build strategic, key or sensitive factories abroad. Samsung had requested permission for its planned export of key technology relating to NAND flash memory chips. When completed, the plant will produce 10,000 12-inch wafers per month.