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| Samsung leader Lee Jae-yong attends a trial on fraud and stock manipulation charges at the Seoul Central District Court, Aug. 21. Yonhap |
75 percent of W240 tril. budget will be invested in Korea
By Kim Yoo-chul, Baek Byung-yeul
A few days after Justice Minister Park Beom-kye said his ministry's decision to parole Samsung leader Lee Jae-yong was due to concerns related to the "national economic situation and the global economic environment," Samsung said it will massively invest into businesses designated as "nationally important."
On Tuesday, Samsung said it plans to invest up to 240 trillion won ($205 billion) over the next three years. Capital expenditure will be focused on contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs), foundry and memory chips ― areas in which Samsung has competitive edge over its chief international rivals.
It aims to become the global CDMO leader by 2023. "Samsung targets 30 percent global market share in the CDMO segment," the statement added.
Its highlights in semiconductors and CDMOs are in accordance with the earlier requests from business leaders and politicians in terms of the company's role in striking COVID vaccine deal and addressing a global chip shortage. Samsung is the long-time leader in memory chips.
Pundits and political analysts claimed that Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong's release from prison may have a complicated political dimension given how much sway the country's top conglomerate has over the rest of the economy. Out of the allocated budget, 180 trillion won or 75 percent will be invested in Korea, said the release.
"Semiconductors are vital to a lot of industries beyond conventional usage as the global technology industry is seeing rapid acceleration of tech development amid the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), fifth-generation (5G) and 6G network-embedded solutions. Given that chips represent dependency for many countries, competition is getting fiercer between countries regarding the issue. Plus, the spread of COVID-19 has awakened the importance of vaccines, so the bio business has also become a strategically important segment," it said.
Samsung Biologics is the group's promising affiliate, as the nature of CDMO business is based on on-time delivery, better pricing and huge manufacturing ― the points that Samsung's competitiveness lie in. The CDMO unit is set to manufacture Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine at its plant in Songdo, Incheon, starting late this month.
Samsung said it will be aggressive for big acquisition deals to cement its leadership in its target businesses. It is sitting on about 200 trillion won cash and cash-equivalent assets that the firm can't wait to spend.
Samsung is still interested in a possible acquisition deal for NXP, though it is reconsidering the deal due to its high price. JP Morgan said Samsung's NXP acquisition makes sense logically and despite legal issues, if Samsung purchases NXP, it will help bolster its position in the chip industry and bring its patented automotive 5G offerings. It said earlier it will invest 171 trillion won in the foundry business by 2030.
Additionally, Samsung said it will increase the number of employees by hiring 40,000 over the next three years. As of June this year, it has around 110,000 employees.
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