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Photo = Yonhap news |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] According to industry sources on May 28, Samsung Electronics has secured a KRW 2 trillion loan from the Korea Development Bank (KDB) under a special semiconductor investment support program. This marks the first time Samsung has utilized KDB’s loan program.
SK hynix and several domestic semiconductor materials, components, and equipment companies also received loans of approximately KRW 500 billion and KRW 900 billion, respectively. With these approvals, the KRW 3.4 trillion loan facility planned for this year under KDB’s special support program for semiconductor capital investment has been fully disbursed.
Despite holding KRW 105 trillion in cash and cash equivalents as of the end of Q1, Samsung opted for the loan due to its highly attractive interest rates. The program offers preferential rates, with discounts of 0.8–1.0 percentage points for large corporations and 1.2–1.5 percentage points for small and mid-sized enterprises. As a result, the final loan interest rate for large corporations is in the low 2% range—comparable to Korean treasury bond yields.
Given that commercial banks typically offer large corporate loans at around 4%, the program enables companies to secure substantial funding at nearly half the usual cost. SK hynix, which plans to invest approximately KRW 20 trillion in capital expenditures this year, is also reported to have strong demand for low-interest financing.
In the financial sector, expectations are growing that additional loans could be extended to semiconductor firms if the government expands KDB’s lending capacity through a supplementary budget.
AlphaBIZ Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
