On Monday, shares of Samsung Electronics dropped 4.7% and SK Hynix fell 3.1% following reports that both companies are set to announce significant investment plans totaling up to 2,000 trillion won ($1.3 trillion). This announcement is expected during a government briefing chaired by President Lee Jae Myung.
The investment is part of a broader strategy that includes a reported 1,000 trillion won ($646 billion) investment program by Samsung Group, which will focus on semiconductor fabrication, AI data centers, advanced packaging, batteries, and displays.
Notably, Samsung plans to allocate approximately 300 trillion won for new fabs in southwestern South Korea, 360 trillion won for the Yongin semiconductor cluster, and over 350 trillion won for AI data centers. The timing of these announcements is critical as both companies are key players in the booming artificial intelligence sector, where demand for high-bandwidth memory chips is surging.
SK Hynix is a leading supplier of advanced HBM chips to Nvidia, while Samsung is working to close the technology gap with its competitor. The market's reaction suggests that investors are wary of the potential financial strain these massive investments could impose on the companies, despite their strategic importance in the rapidly evolving tech landscape