Samsung plugs $356bn in pharma and microchip units

Samsung Group has unveiled a 450 trillion won ($356 billion) investment blueprint for the next five years to accelerate growth in sectors such as semiconductors and biopharmaceuticals.

The investment plan would bring “long-term growth ins strategic businesses and help strengthen the global industrial ecosystem of crucial technology,” Samsung said in a statement.

The South Korean tech giant said the investments through 2026 will help the company grow in strategic areas such as the chip sector whilst also pledging investments into the biopharmaceutical sector with the aim to make it as successful as its chip business, which produces over $70bn in revenue each year, compared with just over $1bn revenue.

Whilst it did not provide a breakdown of the figures, it did say that 80% of the investments will be made in South Korea and that Tuesday’s announcement includes the 240 trillion won investment made in August 2021.

The chipmaker said that smartphone application processors, modems for 5G and 6G networks and high-resolution image sensors will be the core areas to receive higher investment.

Samsung Electronics also plans to further develop its telecommunication networks and artificial intelligence.

The company plans to recruit more people for its AI research centres in countries including South Korea, US, Britain, and Canada.

In the statement, it promised the investment would create 80,000 jobs by 2026, mostly in semiconductors and biopharmaceuticals.

Interestingly, it did not mention electric vehicle batteries in the announcement.

The new figure is a 36% increase in investments spent over the past five years.

The announcement comes after US President Joe Biden toured Samsung Electronics’ Pyeongtaek semiconductor factory last week. During his tour he said that South Korea and the US need to work to “keep our supply chains resilient, reliable and secure,” Biden said.