Samsung to invest $18bn in memory chips

South Korean technology firm Samsung Electronics plans to invest $18.6 billion in its memory chip and display plants in South Korea as it seeks to widen its global lead in the sector.

The world's top maker of smartphones and memory chips said it would spend 14.4 trillion won on expanding its new NAND factory in Pyeongtaek by 2021, and 6 trillion won on upgrading a new semiconductor production line in Hwaseong.

The step will reportedly propel Samsung to record profit this year with the company pledging to create nearly half a million jobs in four years.

The company commonly bankrolls its chip enterprises with more than $10 billion a year to lead the industry, outstripping such rivals as S. Korea's SK Hynix and Japan's Toshiba.

The latest move reportedly comes as a response to repeated calls to big corporations from the South Korean government to invest...