Samsung Is Investing Over $18.6 billiion In Chips and Next-generation Smartphone displays

Samsung Electronics  said on Tuesday it will invest at least $18.6 billion in South Korea to extend its lead in memory chips and next-generation smartphone displays, promising to create almost half a million jobs.

The investment underscores Samsung's determination to widen its lead in memory chips, which are expected to propel Asia's third most-valuable company to record profit this year. It routinely invests more than $10 billion in chips annually, helping it stay ahead of competitors such as cross-town rival SK Hynix Inc and Japan's Toshiba Corp.

The New South Korean President Moon Jae-in Calls for big businesses to invest more domestically as part of a wider job-creation agenda.
"Samsung is being more aggressive in domestic investments because of the current (political) climate," said Park Ju-gun, head of corporate analysis firm CEO Score.
The firm also needs to show initiative domestically after announcing a $380 million plant in the United States.
 Memory makers are widely expected to post record profits in 2017 as prices rise in response to demand for more features in smartphones and servers, as well as a persistent supply shortage which analysts and industry sources said is more acute for NAND chips due to increasing adoption of high-end storage products.

Samsung, SK Hynix and Toshiba have committed billions of dollars to boost NAND output in recent years.
Samsung will put 14.4 trillion won into its new NAND factory in Pyeongtaek by 2021.
It will invest 6 trillion won in a new semiconductor production line in Hwaseong, but did not elaborate on timing or product.
"There's no chance of major oversupply issues, and I think Samsung is investing so much because it's convinced that won't happen," said Shinhan Investment analyst Choi Do-yeon.
The firm accounted for 40.4 percent of global memory chip revenue in January-March, showed latest data from researcher TrendForce.
China is trying to develop its own memory chip producers but it is likely to take several years before they can compete with existing makers, analysts said.
Samsung on Tuesday also said Samsung Display plans to invest around 1 trillion won on a new organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display complex in South Korea.