South Korea denied a JoongAng Ilbo report that it was considering a semiconductor project as the first investment under its $350 billion commitment to the U.S., Bloomberg News reported Tuesday.
The presidential Blue House said a report that the two countries were discussing semiconductors as the initial strategic investment project was "not true," without providing further details on the ongoing negotiations, according to the report.
JoongAng Ilbo reported that South Korea had initially prioritized the energy sector for its first major U.S. investment. Officials reportedly considered a U.S. memory-chip investment impractical given Samsung Electronics (KRX:005930) and SK Hynix's (KRX:000660) existing commitments to invest at least $880 billion in chips and data centers, mainly in South Korea's Honam region.
The two countries aim to finalize the talks and announce investment projects by the end of August, the report said.
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