South Korea ruling party seeks to aid chipmakers to avert Trump threat

By Hyunjoo Jin

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea's ruling party introduced legislation on Monday to give chipmakers subsidies and an exemption from a national cap on working hours, to tackle potential risks from measures threatened by incoming U.S. President Donald Trump.

The semiconductor industry is critical for the trade-dependent economy, Asia's fourth biggest, with chips making up 16% of total exports last year.

Last week, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol warned of the risks stemming from Trump's threat of steep tariffs on Chinese imports that could prompt Chinese rivals to slash export prices and undercut Korean chip firms overseas.

The ruling party's bill comes as chipmakers like Samsung Electronics (KS:005930 ) also brace for growing competition from rivals in countries such as Taiwan and China.

Shares of Samsung and SK Hynix extended losses on Tuesday on concerns about Trump's potential tariffs and U.S. restrictions on AI chip sales to China.

The bill will help Korean companies fend off challenges as China, Japan, Taiwan and the United States give subsidies to manufacturers amid a semiconductor trade war between China and the U.S., one of the bill's sponsors, lawmaker Lee Chul-gyu, said in a statement.

However, the legislation is likely to face an uphill battle to gain approval from the liberal opposition party, which controls a majority in parliament, said Greg Noh, an analyst at Hyundai Motor (OTC:HYMTF ) Securities.

Under the bill, some employees involved in research and development will be allowed to work longer hours, waiving a labour law that limits weekly hours worked to a maximum of 52.

This month, Samsung's labour union opposed such a move, saying the company was trying to blame the law for its "management failure".



Last month, Samsung apologised for its disappointing profit, having lagged rivals TSMC and SK Hynix in tapping booming demand for artificial intelligence chips.

In October, Trump threatened to scrap federal chip subsidies for Taiwan's TSMC, South Korea's Samsung and SK Hynix and others, in favour of import tariffs.

Source: Investing.com

Последние публикации
Hyundai Motor: Morgan Stanley Overweight, sees resilience against US tariffs
27.11.2024 - 03:00
China courier group S.F. Holding's shares open flat in Hong Kong trading debut
27.11.2024 - 03:00
Exclusive-In careful protest, China Evergrande's investors press for action
27.11.2024 - 03:00
Japan’s Seven & i rises on report of KKR interest in supermarket unit
27.11.2024 - 03:00
US stock futures steady with PCE inflation in focus
27.11.2024 - 02:00
United says FAA staffing shortages causing significant disruption at Newark hub
27.11.2024 - 01:00
Exclusive-S.Korea pension fund recently selling dollars in forex market, sources say
27.11.2024 - 01:00
Dell forecasts downbeat fourth-quarter revenue on PC weakness
27.11.2024 - 01:00
Australia Senate committee backs bill to ban social media for children
27.11.2024 - 01:00
U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.28%
27.11.2024 - 00:00
Maximus contract with CMS for Medicare services cancelled; shares drop
27.11.2024 - 00:00
HP reports soft Q1 guidance; shares tumble in afterhours trading
27.11.2024 - 00:00
After-hours movers: HP Inc., Dell Technologies, Workday and more
27.11.2024 - 00:00
Goldman strategists outline five reflation, tariff hedges for 2025
27.11.2024 - 00:00
Dell's quarterly revenue misses estimates on PC weakness
27.11.2024 - 00:00

© Analytic DC. All Rights Reserved.

new
Анализ рынка Как повлият завтра отчет NFP на курс доллара США?