Samsung announces three-year investment plan to expand into AI, robotics, semiconductors, other industries

The announcement for the investment plan comes over a week after de-facto leader Lee Jae-yong was released on parole following his convictions for embezzlement and bribery. (Photo credit: Reuters)

South Korean electronics giant Samsung will invest around Rs 15,26,645 crore over three years to expand its presence in biopharmaceutical, semiconductor, artificial intelligence, and robotics in the post-pandemic era, Samsung Electronics said.

The company, the country’s largest conglomerate, said the expenditure through 2023 would help Samsung consolidate its global standing in key areas such as chips, while allowing growth opportunities in newer fields, including robotics and next-generation telecommunications.

While Samsung, the largest memory chip maker in the world, did not provide a detailed breakdown of how it planned to spread the investment, it said the group planned to pursue mergers and acquisitions to solidify its technology and market leadership.

The company also did not offer any detailed account of its reported $17-billion (approx. Rs 1,26,050 crore) investment for a US-based chip factory. According to a document the company filed with state officials in Texas, Samsung is mulling Williamson County for the location of its chip contract manufacturing facility, which would result in the creation of 1,800 jobs.

The announcement for the investment plan comes over a week after de-facto leader Lee Jae-yong was released on parole following his convictions for embezzlement and bribery. Lee was serving a 30-month sentence for bribing the country’s ex-president.

Samsung Electronics’ second-quarter revenue rose 20 per cent on year, while operating profit jumped 54 per cent despite component shortages hitting the mobile division. The company’s operating profit was recorded at $10.97 billion from a revenue of $55.56 billion.

At that time, Samsung had said the industry-wide component shortage hit its mobile business. Production disruptions at its factories in Vietnam factories, especially following the outbreak of Covid-19, also compounded the problems. The revenue fell on quarter due to lower demand due to weak seasonality.

The company’s semiconductor business is its biggest financial driver and contributes over a third of its revenue. The semiconductor business made up over half of the company’s profits during the quarter.