News / Korea / yonhap_finance
South Korean Conglomerates Cut Capex Despite Soaring Profits, Excluding Chip Giants
Electronic Technology · Semiconductors · yonhap_finance · 2026-08-24
Major South Korean firms saw significant profit growth in the first half, yet capital expenditure excluding Samsung and SK Hynix fell by 11%.
What Happened
Profit Growth vs. Investment: An analysis of 331 major South Korean firms shows a 245.7% surge in operating profit to 392 trillion won in the first half of the year. Despite this robust financial performance, overall capital expenditure remained stagnant.
Semiconductor Dependence: The burden of capital investment was carried almost entirely by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Excluding these two semiconductor giants, the remaining 329 companies reduced their combined capital spending by approximately 12 trillion won.
Cash Hoarding Trend: For the 329 companies excluding the chipmakers, operating profit rose by 72.3% and cash holdings grew by 24.8%. However, these firms reduced their capital expenditure by 11.1%, indicating a reluctance to reinvest despite improved liquidity.
Sectoral Divergence: Investment cuts were most severe in the petrochemical and battery sectors, which saw declines of 38.8% and 47.0% respectively. Conversely, the defense and service sectors increased their capital spending by 38.1% and 36.1% respectively.
Read original
More in Electronic Technology
Electronic Technology · yonhap_finance · 2026-08-24
Nexa Dynamics announces a 15 billion won capital raise, while HD Korea Shipbuilding secures a 515.4 billion won LPG carrier contract.
351320
Electronic Technology · cnbc · 2026-08-24
With Nvidia set to report earnings, technical indicators and shifting market sentiment suggest investors should exercise prudence amid rising AI sector concerns.
NVDA, CRM, CRWD, SOXX, IGV, CIBR, QQQ, SOXS
Electronic Technology · economic_daily · 2026-08-24
A roundup of five key financial stories for August 25, covering US Treasury bond buyback plans, Fubon Financial's market outlook, Intel's new packaging partnership, and Taiwan's industrial policy updates.
2881
Latest in Korea
Finance · yonhap_finance · 2026-08-24
As the era of ultra-low interest rates fades, South Korea faces the harsh reality of global monetary tightening, necessitating urgent structural reforms.
Electronic Technology · yonhap_finance · 2026-08-24
Nexa Dynamics announces a 15 billion won capital raise, while HD Korea Shipbuilding secures a 515.4 billion won LPG carrier contract.
351320
Energy Minerals · yonhap_finance · 2026-08-24
Crude oil prices retreated for the first time in seven sessions as investors locked in profits following recent gains, despite new U.S. sanctions on Iran.
Finance · yonhap_finance · 2026-08-24
The Trump administration's crypto deregulation is reportedly a calculated strategy to boost Treasury demand via stablecoins and lower government borrowing costs.