Samsung Electronics had its presence felt by returning to the top spot in the global semiconductor market in three years in 2021. However, there is still a long way to go. The company aspires to become the No. 1 player in the system semiconductor sector by 2030. But it faces a formidable rival, TSMC
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on April 14 that South Korea’s ICT exports totaled US$23.26 billion last month, up 33.6 percent from a year ago and the largest since records began in 1996.Korea's ICT exports showed a double-digit growth for the 12th consecutive month. Last m
The Presidential Transition Committee announced on April 12 that certain colleges will be designated as schools specialized in semiconductor technology, and a graduate school specialized in the field will be opened.“In 2021, South Korea’s semiconductor exports added up to US$128 billion, one-fifth o
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at jeff.kim@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Revise down TP to KRW90,000 We maintain BUY on SEC, while cutting our TP by 10% to KRW90,000 (based on 12m fwd BVPS and 1.75x P/B) to accommodate: (1) a decline in 3y fwd avg. ROE (13.7%→13.3%) resulting from d
The authors are analysts of Shinhan Investment Corp. They can be reached at doyeon@shinhan.com and hyon@shinhan.com, respectively. – Ed. External factors raising uncertainties in semiconductor demandRecent data show signs of a slowdown in PC demand amid rising uncertainties in overall IT sector dema
SK Telecom has recently completed the establishment of Sapeon’s U.S. and Korean corporations, making itself ready to promote its artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor globally.The company launched Sapeon Korea, a company established by spinning off its AI semiconductor business unit. It also es
The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on March 14 that exports from the information and communications technology sector totaled US$18.88 billion last month and the figure increased 23.7 percent year on year, increased for the 21st consecutive month, and is the highest February figure. It also s
The authors are analysts of Shinhan Investment Corp. They can be reached at doyeon@shinhan.com and hyon@shinhan.com, respectively. – Ed. Continuing supply shortage of 8-inch foundriesTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) plans to raise prices by 10-20% for its 8-inch foundry services in
The author is an analyst of Shinhan Investment Corp. He can be reached at chank@shinhan.com. -- Ed. 4Q21 sales of KRW33.7bn (+77.2% YoY)Nepes Ark posted sales of KRW33.7bn (+77.2% YoY) and operating profit of KRW7.5bn (+316.3% YoY) for 4Q21. Sales growth remained solid on higher capacity utilization
Doosan Group has decided to acquire Tesna, a Korean semiconductor test and inspection company.The group announced on March 9 that it has signed a stock purchase agreement with AI Tree, the largest shareholder of Tesna, to acquire its entire shareholding in Tesna for 460 billion won.Previously, Doosa
Intel announced on Feb. 15 that it would acquire Tower Semiconductor for US$5.4 billion. The Israeli foundry produces automotive chips, power chips and image sensors. Intel entered the foundry market last year and is concentrating on facility expansion.That day, AMD announced that it has completed i
South Korean startups in the non-memory chip sector are coming up with successful results one after another.For example, semiconductor design company SemiFive attracted an investment of 130 billion won on Feb. 16 from Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Korea Investment Partners and Pavilion Capital, a
Bloomberg reported on Feb. 8 that Nvidia gave up on Arm acquisition and Arm would go public instead of being sold by SoftBank.Previously, the U.S. and U.K. governments and many companies in the industry raised objections to the acquisition, claiming that it would hinder competition and innovation. A
The authors are analysts of Shinhan Investment Corp. They can be reached at chank@shinhan.com and hyungwou@shinhan.com, respectively. -- Ed. 4Q21 OP estimated at KRW17.3bn (+81.0% YoY)We now expect Tesna to post sales of KRW58.6bn (+50.7% YoY) and operating profit of KRW17.3bn (+81.0% YoY) for 4Q21.
The authors are analysts of Shinhan Investment Corp. They can be reached at ym.ko@shinhan.com and doyeon@shinhan.com, respectively. -- Ed. New investment strategy for semiconductor equipment stocksInvestment strategies for semiconductor equipment stocks tend to focus on memory market cycles. Earning
The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) announced on Jan. 13 that it has developed RISC-V eXpress as a platform with which RISC-V chips can be designed with greater ease and speed.“With the new platform for automated RISC-V chip design, fabless companies can design the chips
Samsung Electronics announced on Jan. 12 that it realized the world’s first MRAM-based in-memory computing. The new development, which is similar in form to the human brain, is even capable of inference. Samsung Electronics is expected to be able to keep ahead in the fast-growing AI chip industry wi
The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on Jan. 12 that Korea's annual ICT exports hit an all-time high of US$227.62 billion last year, with the annual imports at US$135 billion.Last year, South Korea’s semiconductor exports hit an all-time high of US$128.7 billion and exceeded US$100 billion
Samsung Electronics is expected to announce large-scale merger and acquisition (M&A) deals soon. German chipmaker Infineon Technologies and Dutch semiconductor company NXP Semiconductor have emerged as Samsung's M&A targets as it aims to foster its non-memory business.“I think we will be able to
The authors are analysts of Shinhan Investment Corp. They can be reached at doyeon@shinhan.com and hyon@shinhan.com, respectively. – Ed. 4Q21 OP guidance announced at KRW13.8tr (-12.8% QoQ)Samsung Electronics announced its guidance for 4Q21 operating profit at KRW13.8tr (-12.8% QoQ) on sales of KRW7