Semiconductors, 6G and biopharma: Samsung’s $206bn 3-year plan

In total, this new investment plan is around a third larger than the company’s previous three-year plan, announced back in 2018.

 

The company says that three quarters of the total investment would be spent on expanding facilities and employment within South Korea itself. The company plans on hiring 40,000 additional employees in South Korea over the next three years, 10,000 more than previously announced.

 

This investment reportedly includes funds for mergers and acquisitions, with the company preparing for “M&As of a significant size”, according to reports.

 

The largest portion of this fund will likely go towards enhancing the company’s position in the semiconductor industry; Samsung has already made plans for a $17 billion chip fab in the US, which is presumably part of this total investment. Currently, the company is competing with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the largest semiconductor player in the world, in the race to develop 3nm chip processes.

 

“The company aims to start mass production of processors using the new GAA structure technology on 3 nanometers and below,” said the company in a statement. 

 

This focus should hardly come as a surprise. The South Korean government is pushing hard to make the company a national powerhouse when it comes to semiconductors; back in May, the government announced their a ‘K-semiconductor strategy’, with President Moon Jae-in saying the country’s “public-private semiconductor strategy […] will surmount the rough waves caused by global supply chain reorganisation”.

 

At the time, Samsung said it would invest nearly $150 billion in semiconductors by 2030.

 

Interestingly, the second largest investment area has been named as biopharmaceuticals. Samsung Biologics currently runs three contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMOs) for pharmaceuticals, with the company currently building a fourth.

 

“After the COVID-19 pandemic, the biopharmaceutical industry is transforming into a national security industry beyond a high value-added knowledge industry,” said a Samsung spokesperson. “Power in bio has risen as a key national task as countries suffered from mask shortages and restrictions on vaccine exports. Samsung considers that it has become important for each country to strengthen bio facilities in their own land.”

 

As for telecoms equipment itself, it remains unclear exactly how much of this fund will be dedicated to 5G technology and beyond, though 6G was notably mentioned as an area of great interest for research and development.