SK hynix Emerges as Kioxia's Second-Largest Shareholder, Nears Top Spot

*Editor's Note: 'AI PRISM' (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an 'artificial intelligence (AI)-based customized news recommendation and summarization service' developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six customized news items by reader type.

1. SK hynix Effectively Emerges as Second-Largest Shareholder of Japan's Kioxia

- Key Summary: Bain Capital, formerly the largest shareholder of Japanese semiconductor company Kioxia, sold most of its stake, effectively moving SK hynix into the position of second-largest shareholder. According to Nikkei on the 26th, Bain Capital earned a profit of about 2.5 trillion yen (about 22 trillion won) through the stake sale, and Toshiba, holding a 15% stake, has become the largest shareholder for now. SK hynix has not yet converted its convertible bonds into shares, so to exercise effective voting rights it must pass antitrust reviews in various countries. With Toshiba continuing to sell its stake, the possibility has been raised that SK hynix may become Kioxia's largest shareholder in the future.

2. Samsung, $200 Billion AI Chip Production Partnership; SK Expands HBM4 Supply to MS

- Key Summary: Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have signed a series of AI chip supply contracts with global Big Tech firms, with total cooperation reaching 950 billion dollars (about 1.39 quadrillion won). On the 24th, Samsung Electronics signed a business agreement worth 200 billion dollars (about 290 trillion won) with Broadcom through 2030, forging a mega-deal encompassing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) supply, sub-2-nanometer foundry, and advanced packaging. SK hynix, including a five-year long-term supply contract with Nvidia, signed cooperation worth a total of 750 billion dollars (about 1.1 quadrillion won) with Microsoft (MS) and others, moving to expand supply of next-generation memory such as HBM4. As a result, memory supply contracts that previously lasted just one year have shifted to long-term supply contracts of five years or more, positioning the two companies as key partners in the global AI industry.

3. "AI-Leading Nation" Blueprint Emerges, But Infrastructure Build-Out Speed Is Key

- Key Summary: The Lee Jae-myung government presented a blueprint to develop Korea into a global AI hub through the 'San Francisco AI Declaration,' but critics point out that realizing it will require accelerating the execution of three mega projects. Samsung Electronics decided to invest 2,030 trillion won in the Pyeongtaek and Yongin clusters and 400 trillion won in the Honam region, and moved up the operation start date of its first Yongin semiconductor plant to the second half of 2029. SK hynix likewise decided to invest a total of 1,100 trillion won and move up its target for completing the Yongin cluster by 12 years, from 2045 to 2033. However, practical barriers remain piled up, including building essential infrastructure such as power and ultrapure water (purified water for semiconductors), securing skilled personnel, and finalizing the operating entity for the GPU national AI computing center.

4. Qualcomm Also Signals Double-Digit Chip Price Hike

- Key Summary: Qualcomm, a maker of smartphone application processors (AP), is expected to raise prices of products shipped after September 1 by double digits. According to Bloomberg, Qualcomm said in a letter to customers that it can no longer withstand rising costs as mobile chip component prices surged amid a sharp increase in artificial intelligence (AI) development demand. As foundry companies such as TSMC operate their facilities centered on data center chips, mobile chips have been pushed aside, and memory too is being supplied mainly to AI servers, leaving mobile manufacturers facing supply shortages. As a result, the possibility has been raised that price increases will extend not only to Android flagship models carrying Qualcomm chips but also to Apple's iPhone.

5. Hanwha's "Refinery at Sea" to Tap South American Deep-Sea Oil Fields

- Key Summary: Hanwha Ocean (042660.KS) has begun developing customized floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facilities targeting the South American market, where demand for offshore plants is surging. Hanwha Ocean said on the 26th that it obtained a Basic Design Review (BDR) certification from the U.S. classification society ABS and an Approval in Principle (AIP) from the Norwegian classification society DNV for a standard FPSO front-end engineering design (FEED) specialized for the South American market. Earlier, Hanwha Ocean also completed a standard FPSO concept design that can be deployed at deep-sea oil and gas fields in West Africa, receiving concept approvals last year from ABS and the French classification society BV. Hanwha Ocean plans to build a standard FPSO portfolio spanning major offshore plant markets such as South America and West Africa.

6. Quantum Computing, Last Year's No. 1, Plunges; Pure-Play Strategy Divides Fortunes

- Key Summary: Quantum computing products, which recorded the highest returns among newly listed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in Korea last year, have recently undergone a sharp correction, with results diverging by product. According to Koscom ETF CHECK, the 'SOL US Quantum Computing TOP10' recorded a one-month return of -32.00%, the largest drop, while 'PLUS US Quantum Computing TOP10' also plunged -29.82%. In contrast, the 'RISE US Quantum Computing,' which evenly incorporated large earnings-based Big Tech firms such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet, and the 'KIWOOM US Quantum Computing,' which increased the number of holdings to 22, showed relatively stronger defensiveness. An official at one asset management firm said that some quantum computing stocks have a strong theme-stock character, sensitive to short-term supply-and-demand changes rather than earnings, and that investors should exercise caution.