Samsung secures record $16.4 billion chip order, its biggest ever semiconductor deal

Samsung Electronics has bagged its largest-ever semiconductor order worth $16.4 billion from an undisclosed customer. The 10-year foundry deal will boost its chip business as the company strives to catch up with rival TSMC and offset recent profit declines.

Seoul: Samsung Electronics said on Monday it has secured a 22.8 trillion-won ($16.4 billion) order to supply semiconductors to a major undisclosed customer.

In a regulatory filing, the South Korean tech giant said it signed a foundry contract set to be completed by Dec. 31, 2033. The company did not disclose the identity of the client or the specifics of the deal, citing “management confidentiality,” reports Yonhap news agency.

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The contract accounts for 7.6 percent of the company’s total revenue of 300.9 trillion won last year and marks the largest chip order ever won by Samsung Electronics. The deal is expected to give a much-needed boost to its foundry division, which has long struggled to catch up with global industry leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

In its earnings guideline released earlier this month, Samsung Electronics estimated an operating profit of 4.59 trillion won and sales of 74 trillion won for the second quarter. In particular, operating profit failed to meet market expectations, mainly due to the sluggish performance of the foundry and the System Large Scale Integration (LSI) divisions.

Following the announcement, shares of Samsung Electronics rose 2.43 percent to trade at 67,500 won as of 9:37 a.m., outperforming the broader KOSPI’s 0.26 percent decline.

Meanwhile, President Lee Jae Myung met with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong last year, the presidential office said, expected to discuss a range of trade and investment issues amid trade negotiations between Seoul and Washington.

“President Lee continued his meeting with business leaders this week, following last week’s engagement,” presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a written briefing, adding that he had dinner with the Samsung chairman that day.

“They exchanged views on a broad range of topics without a set agenda,” she added.

The dinner meeting came as South Korea seeks to reach a trade agreement with the United States to lower reciprocal tariffs of 25 percent on Korean goods before the Aug. 1 deadline, with a package deal that includes provisions on trade, investment, and security cooperation.