In the global semiconductor market, South Korea's memory chip industry has played a pivotal role with its outstanding technology and market strategy. As industry leaders, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have not only propelled the development of the entire industry but have also achieved significant performance growth from the market demand for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and server storage.

Performance Overview

Samsung Electronics saw its operating profit in the second quarter of 2024 soar by 1452% year-on-year, reaching 10.4 trillion KRW, with sales amounting to 74 trillion KRW, a 23.31% increase year-on-year. This achievement has not only significantly exceeded market analysts' expectations but also indicates a marked improvement in Samsung Electronics' profitability since the second half of 2022.

SK Hynix's performance in the second quarter of 2024 is equally remarkable, with operating profits reaching 5.47 trillion KRW, marking the highest level of 5 trillion KRW in six years since the second and third quarters of 2018. The sales of HBM, in particular, grew by more than 80% month-on-month and over 250% year-on-year, becoming an important driving force for the company's performance improvement.

Breakthroughs in HBM Technology

HBM technology, with its advantages of high bandwidth, low power consumption, and small size, has become the top choice for AI server scenarios. Samsung Electronics' HBM3 chip has been approved by NVIDIA for the first time to be used in its processors, although currently, this chip will only be used for the GPU H20 developed by NVIDIA for the Chinese market.

SK Hynix has also made significant progress in HBM technology, not only successfully mass-producing HBM3E products but also actively developing HBM4, with plans to launch a 12-layer HBM4 product in the second half of 2025, further consolidating its leading position in the high-performance memory market.

Export and Capacity Market Dynamics

In the first half of 2024, South Korea's semiconductor chip export volume achieved significant growth, reaching 65.83 billion USD, a 49.9% increase year-on-year. Among them, the export performance of memory chips was particularly outstanding, with a year-on-year increase of 88.7%, mainly due to the rise in fixed transaction prices and the export increase of products such as HBM.

To cope with the growth in market demand, both SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics are actively expanding their production capacity. SK Hynix plans to build new production bases in South Korea and the United States to enhance its competitiveness in the global memory chip market. Samsung Electronics is also making organizational adjustments to strengthen advanced packaging technology and create synergies between various business departments.

Future Outlook

With the continuous development of AI technology, the demand for high-performance memory will continue to grow. As a new generation of high-bandwidth memory technology, HBM4 is expected to enter the market in 2025, bringing unprecedented performance improvements to the fields of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. However, the realization of the technology still faces many challenges, such as how to achieve high bandwidth transmission without significantly increasing power consumption and heat, and how to optimize packaging technology to support higher-density memory modules.

Conclusion

Led by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, South Korea's memory chip industry is facing a new round of development opportunities. With continuous technological breakthroughs and the sustained growth of market demand, the two major companies are expected to continue to maintain a leading position in the global semiconductor market, promoting innovation and development in the entire industry.

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