Samsung, SK hynix join $230 million fund to nurture chip technology companies

The participants who signed the agreement for the semiconductor ecosystem fund take photos at the YWCA Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, on June 26. [Photo by Yonhap]

South Korea’s chip majors including Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. will join hands with the state-owned Korea Development Bank and other policy lenders to create an ecosystem fund that invests in promising chip technology companies.

Under the measures announced by Financial Services Commission Vice Chairman Kim So-young on Monday, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix will invest a combined 75 billion won ($57.5 million) in the 300 billion won fund, policy financial institutions 75 billion won and private investors 150 billion won.

The fund will aim to support the scale-up of chip materials, components and equipment companies and fabless entities with technology competitiveness through investment, enhance technology and expand the sales market with the supply of merger and acquisition funds, and protect domestic technology.

“We need to comprehensively boost the competitiveness of the semiconductor industry, not only the existing memory chips sector but also system chips and materials, components, and equipment sectors to respond to the supply network regulations and the competition between major economies to achieve supremacy in the global chip industry,” Kim said.

The vice chairman urged the public and private sector to work together to create the fund to allow local fabless and chip-related companies with growth potential to strengthen their capital and technology capabilities and to gain global competitiveness.

Local policy financial institutions, in the meantime, have executed 46.3 trillion won, or 50.3 percent of the entire target supply of 91 trillion won for this year in the five major priority areas.

They are 7.4 trillion won to foster globally competitive industries, 9.5 trillion won to support future promising industries, 9.97 trillion won to enhance industry structure, 7.5 trillion won to nurture unicorns, ventures, and small and mid-size entities, and 11.9 trillion won to resolve corporate management difficulties.