GoKawiil
Tech News
Major Asian tech and chip stocks sold off sharply Friday after the Nasdaq Composite fell 5.5% overnight and entered correction territory. SK Hynix, Samsung, TSMC, SoftBank, Advantest and Tokyo Electron all posted double-digit or near-double-digit losses, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropping 12.2% in the prior session.
President Lee Jae Myung presented South Korea's largest-ever budget to the National Assembly, with total spending rising 12.8% to 820.9 trillion won ($610.14 billion) for 2027. The plan includes 21.3 trillion won for semiconductors, physical AI and data centers, and a separate 4.7 trillion won earmarked for building what Lee called a sovereign AI model with the world's highest performance. The budget also funds training 2,000 semiconductor specialists and raises defense spending 8.2% to 73.3 trillion won.
Samsung Electronics reported third-quarter operating profit of 107.44 trillion won on revenue of 195.25 trillion won, both roughly matching analyst forecasts and marking a fourth consecutive quarter of record results. The company also announced dividends of 30 trillion won for the quarter and plans to return 55-75 trillion won to shareholders this year, yet its shares dropped 5% after the announcement.
Samsung Electronics is reportedly planning to convert its Xian factory to produce 286-layer NAND flash chips by year-end, while SK Hynix aims to upgrade its Dalian plant to make chips with 240 or more layers, according to Reuters sources. Both companies are racing to boost advanced memory output as AI data center demand grows, while fending off rising competition from Chinese manufacturers such as CXMT and YMTC.
Elon Musk criticized memory suppliers for 'extortionate' pricing during the ongoing DRAM and HBM shortage, without naming them directly, while praising Micron for taking a more 'reasonable' approach that he said builds long-term customer loyalty. Musk did not disclose specific pricing figures or contract terms for any supplier.
SK Hynix shares fell more than 10% and Samsung Electronics dropped 7.1% as an Asian tech sell-off spread Thursday, hitting LG Innotek, Seoul Semiconductor, Samsung SDI, SoftBank, Advantest, Tokyo Electron and Renesas. The rout followed a Wall Street decline after stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation data raised fears of further Federal Reserve rate hikes, with the Nasdaq down 1.88% and the S&P 500 down 1.11%.
Chinese memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) said over the weekend it had advanced new chip architecture that increases memory density, prompting sharp declines in global memory stocks. Micron fell 3.7% in premarket trading, SK Hynix closed 10% lower in Seoul, and Samsung Electronics dropped 7.4%, with SanDisk, Seagate and Western Digital also declining. CXMT, which went public on Shanghai's STAR Market in July with a 466% debut surge, reportedly plans to launch a server-memory product based on the new architecture by the end of 2026.
SK Hynix fell more than 8% and Samsung Electronics dropped 7.9%, both hitting their lowest intraday levels since August, as a US semiconductor sell-off spread to Asian markets. SoftBank Group shares sank over 8% in Japan, dragging down chip-related names including Tokyo Electron, Advantest, Lasertec, Disco and Renesas Electronics. The moves followed a 0.44% Nasdaq decline and a 3.9% drop in Micron Technology after China's ChangXin Memory Technologies reported progress on a new chip architecture.
Samsung Electronics and several affiliates, including Samsung C&T, SDS, SDI, Life Insurance and Fire & Marine Insurance, will together invest $1 billion in Helix Digital Infrastructure. Helix, launched in June by KKR and backed by Nvidia, the Kuwait Investment Authority and Vistra, focuses on data centers, power generation and fiber networks, and has already secured more than $10 billion in commitments.
Samsung Electronics is planning to more than double production of its sixth-generation HBM4 and seventh-generation HBM4E memory chips next year, industry sources say. To support this, the company will raise outsourced cleaning of glass carriers—supports used to stabilize wafers during thinning—from 20,000 sheets monthly this year to 50,000 sheets monthly in 2025, continuing a trend that saw volumes double from 10,000 sheets last year.
South Korean universities including Sogang, SKKU, Korea University and Hanyang University have launched 'contract departments' co-created with SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, blending semiconductor and AI coursework with direct hiring pathways. Students in these programs, such as Sogang's System Semiconductor Engineering track, can receive guaranteed employment at SK Hynix upon graduation, while Samsung-linked programs like SKKU's Department of Intelligent Software require passing a separate company hiring process.
Jensen Huang has been seen publicly using a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, a device he reportedly received as a gift from Samsung Electronics' chairman last year. The sighting suggests Huang has adopted the foldable as his personal phone rather than just accepting it as a courtesy gift.