Low-interest funds in the 3% range per year will be injected into Samsung Electronics' Pyeongtaek Plant 5 (P5) and ISU Specialty Chemical's Ulsan all-solid-state battery materials plant, which were selected as the second investment destinations of the Public Growth Fund. The total support amounts to 2.6 trillion won.
The Financial Services Commission on the 26th convened the Public Growth Fund's fund management deliberation committee and approved an agenda to provide low-interest loans through the advanced strategic industry fund to Samsung Electronics and ISU Specialty Chemical.
Samsung Electronics will receive 2.5 trillion won, and ISU Specialty Chemical will receive 100 billion won.
Samsung Electronics' Pyeongtaek P5 is a mega-scale semiconductor investment project with more than 60 trillion won to be injected. The first-phase facility investment currently being pursued by Samsung Electronics will inject 8.8 trillion won. Of this, Samsung Electronics will raise 6.3 trillion won, and 2.5 trillion won will be provided by the advanced fund (2 trillion won) and the five major commercial banks (500 billion won), respectively. The strategic fund plans to supply funds at low interest rates at the level of treasury bonds, and banks plan to supply funds at interest rates in the 3% range per year.
Samsung Electronics decided to move up its facility operation plan, originally targeted around 2030, to 2028. In addition, taking this support as an opportunity, the company will work with the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund (KODIT) to establish a 200 billion won special guarantee program and expand its win-win model with materials, parts, and equipment companies by piloting the introduction of domestic equipment into the Pyeongtaek P5 process. Based on Samsung Electronics' contributions, KODIT will provide special guarantee products with lower guarantee fees and higher guarantee ratios to partner companies participating in the Pyeongtaek P5 project.
The Ulsan next-generation secondary battery materials plant project is to build ISU Specialty Chemical's lithium sulfide (Li2S) production plant. Lithium sulfide is a key material for the next-generation secondary battery, the Solid-state Battery. It is installed in smartphones, laptops, Humanoid Robots, future mobility devices (drones, cars), and wearable devices. The advanced fund plans to offer a long-term loan of 100 billion won for 10 years at a low interest rate in the low 3% range per year.
ISU Specialty Chemical expects that, based on the advanced fund loan, it can accelerate process innovation and business execution, lower the production cost of lithium sulfide compared with competitor countries, and strengthen its competitiveness within the global Solid-state Battery value chain.
An official at the Financial Services Commission said, "Of the seven projects included in the first megaproject of the Public Growth Fund, approvals are proceeding swiftly, taking into account the maturity of project progress and the timing of funding needs."