The Samsung conglomerate plans to increase its investments by a third to 240 trillion won (175 billion euros) in the three years to 2023.

This was announced by Samsung Electronics, the crown jewel of the South Korean group, on Tuesday.

The money will go into the areas of biopharma, artificial intelligence, semiconductors and robotics, explained Samsung Electronics, without breaking down the investments.

Patrick Welter

Correspondent for business and politics in Japan, based in Tokyo.

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The company had previously announced that it would invest around 171 trillion won in expanding the production of computer chips by 2030.

This is supposedly not a reaction to the pandemic-related shortage of computer chips.

Samsung emphasized on Tuesday that the company would be guided by medium-term goals, but not by short-term market conditions.

It is unclear whether the newly named sum includes the equivalent of 15 billion euros that Samsung wants to spend on a foundry factory in the United States, according to media reports, in which computer chips are to be produced on behalf of other companies.

Strategic acquisitions planned

Samsung also stated that it wanted to underpin its technical leadership role and market leadership through strategic corporate acquisitions. Analysts have long speculated that Samsung is planning larger takeovers with a cash register of around 68 billion euros. The last major takeover was four years ago. In July, Samsung Electronics signaled interest in companies in the artificial intelligence, 5G networks and automotive technology sectors.

The announcement comes a few days after the factual head of the Samsung group, Lee Jae-yong, was released from prison on parole. Lee was imprisoned for bribery and embezzlement, among other things. The Ministry of Justice had justified the release, among other things, on economic factors. President Moon Jae-in, who had not commented on the release, wants to strengthen semiconductor production in South Korea, among other things. To do this, he needs Samsung, the largest conglomerate in the country and the largest manufacturer of smartphones and electronic memory modules. In this situation, a major decision from Samsung was expected.

Proponents of Lee's release argued that strategic decisions could not be made without Lee. Samsung's announcement seems to underscore this argument in retrospect. The company stressed that 180 trillion of the 240 trillion won would be invested in South Korea. Samsung plans to create 40,000 new jobs by 2023. In this way, 560,000 jobs would be stimulated in suppliers and affiliated companies in South Korea.