Samsung Electronics has asked local governments in Texas to provide tax breaks for its new chip plant in Austin, raising speculation that it is about to expand its production capacity in the US, according to news reports Friday.

Reuters reported that the South Korean chipmaker is seeking combined tax abatements of $805.5 million over 20 years from Travis County and the city of Austin, among other tax breaks, citing documents filed with Texas state officials.

There were rumors that Samsung would build a new foundry plant somewhere in the US, worth an estimated $17 billion.

According to the reported documents, Samsung said if Austin were selected, the company would break ground on the site in the second quarter of this year in hopes of beginning operations in the third quarter of 2023.

The documents revealed that Samsung is still considering other sites in the US, including sites in Arizona and New York.

Its foundry rival TSMC from Taiwan is planning to build a $12 billion chip plant in Phoenix.

Samsung’s move seems to be aimed at catching up with TSMC through steady supplies to US customers such as Intel, Nvidia, Qualcomm and Tesla.

Samsung said it is reviewing multiple sites for the project, but that nothing has been confirmed.

Last month the company announced during a conference call that no decision had been made about the US investment, though it said it was considering expanding its chip facilities.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)