LX eyeing Japan for business expansion

By Kim Hyun-bin

LX Group's system semiconductor design company, LX Semicon, is accelerating its business expansion in Japan with the establishment of its third overseas corporate entity.

According to the industry, LX Semicon has established a Japanese corporate body, which had been approved by its board of directors in May. “We are setting up the corporate body to better support our clients in Japan,” an LX Semicon official said Friday.

LX Holdings Chairman Koo Bon-joon

As LX Group's third overseas unit after China and the US, the company plans to strengthen its sales activities with local Japanese electronics companies such as Sony, Panasonic and Sharp.

LX Semicon reported impressive earnings during the third quarter, propelled by a surge in prices from its flagship display drive chips (DDI).

The company's consolidated operating profit in the third quarter was for 129 billion won, up 166.1 percent from the same period last year, surpassing the total operating profit of 94.2 billion won in 2020. Profit based on consolidated performance includes overseas earnings.

Industry officials are saying that if LX Semicon utilizes its Japanese branch to expand its sales of high value-added OLED DDI, used to manufacture organic light emitting diode (OLED) TVs, to local tech giants such as Sony and Panasonic, the company's profitability is expected to soar even further.

LX Semicon recently acquired a 29.98-percent stake in FJ Composite Materials, a Japanese heat dissipation material company owned by LG Chem, for about 7 billion won.

Heat dissipation materials are used to release heat generated during the operation of a product, and are utilized to increase the durability and stability of automotive and electronic components.

FJ Composite possesses core materials and technologies for the manufacture of inverter modules for electric vehicles and fuel cell separators. These materials and technologies are expected to create synergy with LX Semicon's next-generation power semiconductor business.

Power semiconductors, combining silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), are capable of operating at high voltages and frequencies at high temperatures, which helps electric vehicles to drive in harsh conditions.

LX Semicon is one of the key strategic businesses pushed by LX Holdings Chairman Koo Bon-joon. The company has been aiming to diversify its business portfolio to include SiC and automotive microcontrollers (MCUs) along with its existing flagship DDI business.