Chey talks change as SK finalizes Hynix takeover
By Kim Yoo-chul
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said Tuesday that he will strengthen Hynix Semiconductor’s non-memory business.
While attending a board meeting at the chipmaker’s office in southern Seoul, he said, “SK will help Hynix strengthen its global presence.
Hynix is currently focused on memory chip production that is less lucrative than non-memory units but the latter will be boosted because SK Telecom is now its affiliate.”
Chey is a board member and leads as CEO together with Kwon Oh-chul, president of Hynix. The two companies are currently considering changing the semiconductor firm’s corporate name to SK-Hynix.
``I’ve talked with Chairman Chey over several pending issues,’’ Kwon told reporters after the board meeting without elaborating further.
Separately, officials at the Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), the main creditor for Hynix, said that SK Telecom has finalized the acquisition by paying 3.38 trillion won.
``I’ve already acknowledged some concerns of my status at Hynix,’’ Chey told reporters.
Prosecutors recently indicted the SK chairman on charges of embezzling group money to cover losses from his own futures investments.
During a shareholders meeting Monday, the National Pension Service (NPS), the top shareholder of Hynix with a 9.15 percent stake, offered ``a neutral opinion’’ on his appointment, sparking outcry from its in-house members and civic groups.
``This is time-consuming. I can’t relate all the details at this point,’’ Chey said.
SK and Hynix are planning to invest 5 trillion won this year, up from its earlier investment plan of 4.2 trillion won, according to officials from both firms.
Hynix is the world’s second-biggest memory chipmaker after Samsung Electronics. It said earlier it will invest more on NAND-type memory chips used in high-end digital devices such as smartphones and tablets amid the buoyant demand.
But it is being asked to boost capabilities for profitable non-memory chips as the memory chip segment is volatile and cyclical depending on economic situations.
By contrast, non-memory chips are used to control an entire computing system and are less volatile and more profitable than memory chips used to read and write data.
Hynix supplies computer memory chips majors companies including Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Dell and leading Taiwanese PC makers.
``I will try hard to help Hynix generate larger revenues,’’ said Chey.
Fitch Ratings has upgraded Hynix to BB from BB- as the credit ratings agency believes the acquisition of 21 percent of the chipmaker by SK Telecom will help strengthen its bottom line.
``Notwithstanding limited operational synergy with SK Telecom, the upgrade reflects Fitch’s view that Hynix will be an important asset for SK Telecom given the chairman’s strong desire to expand into manufacturing,’’ Fitch said in a statement.
But it downgraded its view over SK Telecom and insisted it reflects SK Telecom’s weaker financial profile and higher business risk. ``We don’t foresee any significant operational synergy between SK Telecom and Hynix,’’ the agency said.