South Korean Central Bank Is Bullish On Self-driving And Ai, Semiconductor Boom Continues

The Bank of Korea said on Sunday that global semiconductor demand is  expected to continue strong for another year. Local chips should focus  on upgrading non-memory chip manufacturing capabilities in preparation  for future market competition.


The  South Korean central bank pointed out that the semiconductor glory  began in the second half of 2016. With the self-driving cars and  artificial intelligence boosted, the boom will be further extended to  the second half of 2019. However, the Bank of Korea believes that the economic growth of the  developed countries has slowed down and may soon have an impact on DRAM.


Looking at the whole picture, the Bank of Korea expects that the  probability of semiconductor oversupply is not high. The chip makers  should pay attention to the increase in threats from China and its  existing peers, and increase investment spending on non-memory  semiconductors, which is relatively unaffected by the economic  fluctuations.


South Korean exports rely heavily on semiconductors. According to  statistics, 17% of South Korea’s export value comes from semiconductors.  Samsung, the country’s largest technology company, accounts for  one-third of its operating profit in the first quarter from  semiconductors.


Samsung  forecast last week that profit from January to March will come to 15.6  trillion won, up 57.6% from the same period last year, and also better  than market estimates of 14.5 trillion won.