South Korea would set up an aid package worth more than US$7 billion to support its chip industry, the South Korean Ministry of Economy and Finance said yesterday.
This initiative follows its pledge last year to build the world’s largest chip center using US$240 billion of private investment, primarily from Samsung Electronics Co, the world’s largest memorychip maker, as it seeks an edge in the global industry.
Seoul “is preparing an assistance package of more than 10 trillion won (US$7.3 billion) to support fabless, chips materials and manufacturing equipment in all areas of chips industry,” South Korean Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok said in a ministry statement.
Photo: AFP
INVESTMENT
The US$7.2 billion package could be created through “a new fund financed by private and public financial institutions,” Choi told executives of domestic chipmakers at a meeting on Friday the statement said.
It comes as Asia’s fourth-largest economy aims to invest heavily in six key technologies including chips, displays and batteries, all areas where the country’s tech giants are well-established already.
South Korea is home to two of the world’s largest memorychip makers: Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix Inc.
Semiconductors are Seoul’s leading export and hit US$11.7 billion in March, their highest level in almost two years, accounting for one-fifth of South Korea’s total exports, according to figures released by the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
CRITICAL ISSUE
In May 2022, Samsung announced a 450 trillion won investment blueprint over the next five years aimed at making it a frontrunner in key sectors from semiconductors to biologics.
Securing supplies of advanced chips has become a crucial issue internationally, with the US and China locked in a fierce battle for control of the chips market.
Washington is pressing allies including South Korea to further tighten restrictions on China’s access to semiconductor technology. US officials also want South Korea to restrict the flow of equipment and technologies for making high-end logic and memory chips to China, Bloomberg News has reported.
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