Korean semiconductor company LG Semicon Co Ltd has denied rumors that it is to pull the plug on the building of a 1.3bn pound fabrication plant in Wales. A company spokesperson said rumors that the project had run out of money and that contractors would not be paid until April were completely untrue. But as Computergram went to press last night, we heard from one contractor working on the Newport, Gwent site that the company he worked for had had its accounts frozen until April. LG Semicon said the project is still very much alive and it is actively recruiting and training staff at the moment. When, and if, the plant is completed it will operate as a semiconductor fabrication and processing plant. LG Electronics is also in on the act, having invested 400m pounds in the plant. If the rumors are true, the Seoul, Korea-based company will not have been the first to fall foul to the difficult economic situation present in the Asian country. Just before Christmas Hyundai Electronics Industries Co Ltd scrapped plans to build two semiconductor plants in Scotland valued at $3bn (CI No 3,311), despite just one month earlier denying rumors that it was experiencing difficulties (CI No 3,300).
