This file photo taken June 3, 2021, shows the corporate logo of Samsung Group at its office building in Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung Electronics Co. has said it sold part of its stake in the Dutch chip equipment maker ASML Holdings N.V. to secure cash flows amid the chip slowdown.
The South Korean tech giant’s semi-annual report released on Monday showed that Samsung’s shares in Veldhoven-based ASML fell to 2.75 million, or 0.7 percent, at the end of June, from the 6.29 million shares, or 1.6 percent, it held end-March.
Through the transaction, Samsung, the world’s largest memory chip maker, appeared to have secured US$2.2 billion.
Samsung has been cooperating with ASML, one of Samsung’s biggest chipmaking partners and the sole maker of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems, since 2000 to boost its competitiveness in semiconductor manufacturing.
In 2012, the South Korean tech giant invested approximately 400 billion won in ASML’s research and development of next-gen lithography technologies over the next five years.
Samsung also bought a 3 percent stake in ASML for about 700 billion won at that time, and sold off half of the stake four years later for 600 billion won.
The report also showed Samsung raised around 115 billion won by selling 2.38 million shares of BYD Co., China’s leading electric carmaker.
It made 67.6 billion won after selling 1.54 million shares of SFA Engineering, a machinery company based in Hwaseong, South Korea.
In February, Samsung said it will borrow 20 trillion won from Samsung Display at an interest rate of 4.6 percent to secure cash flows.
The series of moves is seen as Samsung’s commitment to its investment drive, even as smaller rivals, like SK hynix and Micron Technology, moved to cut back on spending in the industry’s down cycle.
Samsung spent 23 trillion won for chip infrastructure in the first half. In the most recent quarter, it spent 7.2 trillion won for research and development, more than 10 times the quarter’s operating profit.
Samsung’s chip business has logged losses of 8.94 trillion won so far this year, as macroeconomic woes have taken a toll on demand for chips used in electronic gadgets from mobile phones to computers to cars.
In the first quarter, Samsung’s chip division reported an operating loss of 4.6 trillion won, its first financial loss in 14 years, as chip inventories grew significantly amid tapering global demand.
Prior to that, the division recorded losses in the first quarter of 2009.
(Yonhap)
