SK hynix, regarding the government's ongoing discussions on easing regulations on advanced-industry investment, said it "will lead to securing competitiveness in advanced industries and, further, to strengthening the competitiveness of Korea's technology sovereignty," calling it "a measure not to miss the golden time for investment to secure competitiveness in national strategic industries."
In a post titled "We offer an explanation on semiconductor plant investment" published on the SK hynix newsroom on the 24th, the company said, "In the age of artificial intelligence (AI), the scale and method of semiconductor investment have completely changed," emphasizing that production facility investments have grown to a level incomparable to the past due to process miniaturization and the spread of AI.
As a representative example, it cited the Yongin semiconductor cluster. It said the investment plan, presented at about 120 trillion won in 2019, has expanded to 600 trillion won over six years. It added that construction costs have risen by about 1.4 times, and the expansion of clean rooms has significantly increased the number of equipment introduced and the equipment expense. The company's position is that institutional flexibility must underpin efforts to accelerate the pace of investment.
The government is considering lowering the rule in a holding company structure that requires a grandchild company to own 100% of a great-grandchild company to 50%. SK hynix said that if a grandchild company can establish a special-purpose company (SPC) in the form of a subsidiary, it can "share the burden of large-scale initial investment with external capital and manage its financial structure more stably." It explained that an SPC is a temporary structure used for investments in large production facilities such as semiconductor plants and is liquidated when its purpose is achieved.
Regarding concerns that easing equity rules could be seen as a "favor" for a particular group, SK hynix said, "Project-based investment structures are commonly used in major overseas countries," citing the case in which Intel set up a 51–49 joint venture with global asset manager Brookfield to build a $30 billion plant in Arizona.
Meanwhile, the industry is closely watching the speed of related legislation.