Chip exports in South Korea have already started growing, escalating 66.7 percent year-on-year to $9.94 billion in February.
After analyzing India’s growth potential in the semiconductor industry, South Korea has now proclaimed its intention to grow the industry by developing artificial intelligence chips and high-bandwidth memory. Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun has told the media that this association will help to achieve the target of $120 billion in exports annually.
According to an exclusive report by Yonhap news agency, Ahn said, "The government will support the timely establishment of related infrastructure, secure competitive technologies, promote exports, and strengthen the ecosystem of materials, parts, equipment, and fabless sectors." This is an optimistic move, which appears at a time when the nation has been undertaking various initiatives to bolster its semiconductor industry, coupled with billions of dollars of investments.
Industry insiders have said that the government is likely to approve around $26 billion worth of investment proposals in the semiconductor industry. Out of this, $18 billion worth of applications have been approved by the government, which includes Tata’s and CG Power’s investment worth Rs 1.26 lakh crore. US-based Micron has already invested in Gujarat’s Dholera region for its new ATMP unit at an investment of $825 million.
South Korea’s industry minister has also said that the government will soon appear with a powerful strategy that will help South Korean companies spearhead the artificial intelligence sector. Moreover, the government is also aiming to unleash a dedicated department to assist in the development of the cluster. In the meantime, SK Hynix, South Korea’s leading memory chip maker, is looking forward to set-up another four units of the fabrication plants with an outlay of USD 89.5 billion by 2046. The company aims to manufacture NAND Flash and DRAM memory chips in the new units.
Chip exports in South Korea have already started growing, escalating 66.7 percent year-on-year to $9.94 billion in February. According to a report by IANS, it marked the fourth consecutive month of growth and the sharpest increase since the 69.6 percent rise tallied in October 2017.
