Samsung Electronics Co.’s management committee has confirmed the approval of memory chip investment on May 17, marking the first time in six months since November that the company’s highest decision-making body to use the word “investment” in the management committee.

This measure is seen as Samsung Electronics’ judgment of the appropriate timing for investment after observing market trends as the company’s leadership appears to be putting strength in their outlook for a turnaround in the semiconductor market in the second half of this year.

In the midst of the semiconductor slump, Samsung Electronics’ actions are expected to boost the possibility of an economic recovery in the second half of the year for the Korean economy.

Meanwhile, a government-funded research institute has released an analysis stating that the domestic economy, which has been sluggish for a while, is expected to hit bottom and rebound soon. This is based on the improvement in semiconductor exports, which has supported the Korean economy, and the export situation with China.

It is also based on the judgment that inflation is gradually stabilizing. The Korea Development Institute (KDI) stated in its Monthly Economic Trends report for June released on Sunday that “indicators indicating the bottom of the economy are increasing.”

The representative indicator that KDI views as indicating the bottom is semiconductor exports. Although semiconductor exports decreased by 41 percent compared with the previous year as of April, the decline narrowed to 36.2 percent in the following month, a reduction of 4.8 percentage points. The semiconductor export volume index also dropped by 14.5 percent compared to the previous year in February but remained 0.3 percent lower than the previous year in April.

The improvement in export weakness with China also influenced this KDI assessment. Chinese export revenue dropped by 33.1 percent compared with the previous year in March but decreased by 26.5 percent in April and 20.8 percent in May.

In addition, KDI explained that consumer indicators are also improving. The Composite Consumer Sentiment Index (CCSI), which reflects consumers’ economic perception and sentiment, is on an upward trend. The CCSI recorded 98 in the previous month, an increase of 2.9 percentage points, approaching the benchmark of 100.

The slowdown in the consumer price index was also cited as a factor indicating an economic recovery. Consumer prices increased by 3.3 percent compared to the previous year in the last month.

By: DocMemory
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