Leaders of Samsung, SK to visit Netherlands for chip alliance

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, right, poses with ASML CEO Peter Wennink at the Dutch company’s headquarters in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, June 14, 2022. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics Chipmakers desperate to purchase more EUV machines from ASML By Lee Min-hyung The leaders of Korea’s two major chipmakers will deepen their partnerships with ASML, the Netherlands-based manufacturer of lithography systems that are essential for improving semiconductor-manufacturing processes, according to business sources, Sunday. Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won plan to discuss the agenda during their meeting with ASML CEO Peter Wennink in the Netherlands. The meeting is taking place on the sidelines of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s five-day state visit to the European nation starting on Monday. ASML is a key partner for chipmakers as the Dutch firm is the world's sole developer of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines. The devices are crucial for Samsung and SK to produce next-generation microchips. Samsung Electronics has maintained a friendly relationship with ASML for more than a decade, in a strategic move to elevate its chip-making competitiveness with EUV machines from ASML. Back in 2012, Samsung acquired a 3-percent stake in ASML for 363 billion won ($275 million). ASML’s ever-growing market influence helped Samsung chalk up massive revenues following the investment. Samsung sold more than 4.71 million shares of ASML during the second and third quarters and secured capital worth 4.3 trillion won. This is Chey's first visit to ASML's headquarters. Starting from July 2021, the company started mass-producing mobile DRAM using EUV equipment. The company is going all-out to bring in more EUV machines to stabilize its chip-making process. SK hynix also operates a special taskforce dedicated to securing more EUV machines. Against this backdrop, Chey’s planned meeting with the ASML leader raises hopes of the firm signing contracts to import more EUV machines. Samsung is known to have secured around 40 EUV machines, while its competitor, Taiwan-based TSMC, obtained more than 100 as of 2022. Even if competition is intensifying among global chipmakers to purchase more EUV machines, ASML can only manufacture around 40 a year. The more EUV machines chipmakers secure, the more efficient their chip-producing process becomes. The government, for its part, aims to support corporate-level partnerships between Korean and Dutch semiconductor companies. “We plan to maximize the complementary relationship between the two countries in terms of their bilateral chip value chain,” Kim Tae-hyo, principal deputy national security adviser, said in a recent briefing. “On Yoon’s state visit to the Netherlands, a keen focus will be on building the two nations' battery alliance that encompasses the government, companies and colleges. Towards that end, both sides will discuss the establishment of bilateral chip dialogue channels," he added.