Korea to invest $50 mn in semicon equipment firms

LONDON, UK: The government of South Korean plans to invest 58.4 billion won (around $50 million) in the local semiconductor-manufacturing equipment firms over the next 3 years.

The plan is aimed at helping 7 pieces of manufacturing equipment that South Korea at present imports, and 5 future technologies for sub-30-nm integrated circuits.

Yonhap News Agency, quoting government officials, said that the South Korean government’s project is expected to reduce the local companies’ reliance on equipment made overseas and also to promote South Korea’s capabilities in areas like phase-change and resistive RAM.

The South Korean government’s plan to invest in the local semiconductor-manufacturing equipment firms will run till November 2012. Of the 58.4 billion won (around $50 million), the government will provide 35.9 billion won (about $31 million) – with companies such as Hynix and Samsung making available the rest.

Park Tae-sung, head of the semiconductor and display division at South Korea’s Ministry of Industry and Knowledge Economy, was quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying that the injection of state money into local semiconductor-manufacturing equipment firms will be on condition that Samsung and Hynix will buy finished products and technologies, provided these products and technologies meet international standards.

The government’s investment project could help South Korea generate around $1 billion in sales of manufacturing equipment within 5 years – from 2013 to 2017.