Samsung Electronics Ltd. To Invest KRW 300T To Throttle South Korea's Chip Industry

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd announced on Wednesday that it will invest approximately 300 trillion won ($230 billion) by 2042 to develop what the government refers to as the world's largest chip-making base, as part of efforts to boost South Korea's chip industry.

The sum accounts for the majority of the 550 trillion won in private-sector investment announced by the government on Wednesday, as part of a strategy to increase the competitiveness of high-tech industries such as chips, displays, and batteries by expanding tax breaks and infrastructure support.

Samsung's manufacturing additions will include five chip factories and attract up to 150 materials, parts and equipment makers, fabless chipmakers and semiconductor research-and-development organisations, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement.

Other countries, including the United States, have announced plans to boost domestic chip industries, including the CHIPS Act, which offers billions of dollars in subsidies to chipmakers who invest in the country.

South Korea, which is home to the world's two largest memory chip makers, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix Inc, is attempting to improve supply-chain stability in order to become a major player in the non-memory chip market, which is currently dominated by chipmakers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd and Intel Corp.