Samsung Group plans expansion, announcing major investments

Over the next three years, the South Korean conglomerate Samsung Group plans to invest 240 trillion won (174.85 billion euros) in expansion in the field of semiconductors, robotics, artificial intelligence and biopharmaceuticals in the post-pandemic period. Samsung Electronics said in a statement. Investing by 2023 will help strengthen the group's global position in key industries such as chip manufacturing, while enabling it to seek growth opportunities in new areas such as robotics and next-generation telecommunications. Samsung Electronics, the conglomerate's flagship company and the world's largest memory chip maker, also said the group plans to strengthen its market and technology leadership through mergers and acquisitions. However, the company did not provide further information and did not say whether the latest investment plan also includes USD 17 billion (EUR 14.51 billion), which it allegedly spent on a new American chip factory. The new plan is 30% larger than Samsung's previous three-year strategy of 2018. The group has decided to increase investment to maintain its technological leadership, especially in the current context of global chip shortages. "The chip industry is a security label for the Korean economy. Our aggressive investment is a survival strategy in the sense that once we lose our competitiveness, it is almost impossible to go back," a statement from Samsung Electronics said. Competing chip manufacturers, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and Intel, are investing heavily in expanding production capacity due to global chip shortages and intensified competition in the advanced chip segment. According to the South Korean Trade Commission, the Samsung Group has 59 divisions and assets totaling KRW 457 trillion.