SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. said Thursday it will spend 6 trillion won (US$4.9 billion) this year, similar to last year’s capital spending, to overcome rising challenges from rivals.
The chipmaker is faced with global challenges, including falling demand for memory chips and the rise of Chinese players in the segment.
SK hynix earlier said its third-quarter net profit fell 4.3 percent from a year earlier to 1.05 trillion won, largely due to slowing demand of memory chips for personal computers.
The plan is in line with its parent firm’s efforts to meet government calls for an increase in investment.
SK Group’s Chairman Chey Tae-won had been serving a prison sentence since 2013 for embezzlement, but he was freed on Aug. 14 in a special presidential pardon marking Liberation Day. Since then, SK Group has been actively responding to government calls to create more jobs and jack up spending.
Public sentiment, however, was against SK Group over the past few weeks after Chey confessed to having a child with an unidentified woman, and that he was going through divorce procedures.’
(Yonhap)