Samsung to invest $355 billion in chip, biotech, 6G over five years

South Korea’s top conglomerate Samsung has unveiled a plan to invest 450 trillion won ($355 billion) over the next five years in strategic sectors such as semiconductors, biotechnology and 6G telecommunications.

The investment to be made through 2026 is aimed at solidifying its leadership in the memory chip business and strengthening its competitiveness in other growth sectors, according to its flagship unit Samsung Electronics Co. on Tuesday.

The group said 360 trillion won, or 80% of the investment, is earmarked for domestic spending while the remaining amount will be invested overseas.

Much of the investment will go toward its semiconductor division, which is expanding rapidly to compete with foundry leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and other big names such as Intel Corp.

Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest memory chip and smartphone maker, didn’t break down its investment plans but said it aims to widen its gap with the competition by improving technological competence.

The company said it will also spend heavily on advancing its chip design facilities to gain ground in the non-memory business. The company is particularly keen on producing next-generation 3-nanometer chips based on its Gate-All-Around (GAA) transistor technology.

Last Friday, Samsung showcased the technology to visiting US President Joe Biden at the company’s chip plant in Pyeongtaek, near Seoul.

The promised investment will also be used to buy advanced chipmaking machines such as extreme ultraviolet (EUV) scanners from the Netherlands’ ASML Holding N.V., the world's leading photolithography equipment maker.

Samsung also said in May that it is working on a new mobile application processor chip, which will be used exclusively for its flagship Galaxy smartphone series from 2025 to compete against rivals such as Apple Inc.

TO MAKE BIO AS SUCCESSFUL AS CHIP BUSINESS

Samsung Group also pledged aggressive investments in the biopharmaceutical sector to put it on par with its chip business.

The conglomerate said the biopharmaceutical sector will be its “next semiconductor business,” where it holds a dominant position in the global market.

Through its two biotech affiliates, Samsung Biologics Co. and Samsung Bioepis Co., the group is strengthening its foothold in biosimilar and contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) projects.

Samsung Biologics said that when construction of its fourth plant is completed by 2023 it will be the world’s largest CDMO operator with an annual capacity of 620,000 liters.

Samsung Bioepis said in February that it plans to double the number of its biosimilar products on sale to 10 products by 2025 and accelerate its push for the development of novel therapeutics.

Samsung Bioepis is a joint venture between Samsung Biologics and US biopharmaceutical firm Biogen Inc. Earlier this year, Samsung Group acquired the US firm’s stake in the JV to wholly own Bioepis as part of its efforts to enter the new drug-making business as well as expanding its CDMO business.

6G COMMUNICATION NETWORK

Another key pillar of Samsung’s future growth drivers is next-generation communication equipment.

Samsung, which deployed the world’s first commercial 5G communication devices, said it will hold its current leadership in networks to 6G and beyond.

In a white paper it released last month, Samsung Electronics said it will strive to secure 6G frequencies for its 6G communication system, a key infrastructure for the commercialization of future technologies such as holograms, the metaverse and extended reality (XR).

Samsung Group’s latest investment plan on Tuesday partly overlaps with its public spending pledges announced last August and is over 30% more than the 330 trillion won the conglomerate invested over the past five years until 2021.

With the latest spending plan, Samsung said it expects to create 80,000 jobs through 2026.

Write to Shin-Young Park and Ji-Eun Jeong at nyusos@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.