electronic

According to South Korean media ZDNet Korea, Samsung Electronics is adjusting the original purpose of its NRD-K Line 2 at the Giheung campus from a research and development facility to a wafer foundry line, with the main target product being the 2nm base chips required for NVIDIA's HBM. This production line is expected to be operational in the second half of 2028, adopting a "Send-Fab" model, which involves receiving wafers from other mass production lines and performing specific processes.NRD-K is the most advanced composite research and development campus built by Samsung Electronics to seize future semiconductor technology, with a total investment of approximately 20 trillion won, planning for three production lines, of which the first line is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024. This adjustment aims to proactively respond to the expansion of HBM demand driven by investments in AI infrastructure. Samsung plans to first apply the 2nm process to custom HBM and HBM5 to maintain performance advantages.Industry insiders point out that the scale of NRD-K Line 2 is relatively small, making it suitable for operation in the Send-Fab format. However, there are still about two years until the production line is operational, and the final purpose may be adjusted again based on market conditions. Samsung had previously considered using this production line for DRAM production, but after modifications to the relevant plans this month, DRAM capacity will be more concentrated in the Pyeongtaek campus. Equipment procurement orders have not yet been officially issued.

According to Gate market data, the South Korean KOSPI index rose 3.38% in early trading, Samsung Electronics rose 4%, and SK Hynix rose 5%.

According to Gate market data, the Nikkei 225 index closed up 553.84 points on August 12, an increase of 0.83%, reporting at 67,524.06 points.The South Korean KOSPI index also closed up 233.51 points on the same day, an increase of 3.68%, reporting at 6,579.04 points.Chip stocks surged significantly, with Samsung Electronics rising 6.68% and SK Hynix rising 5.54%.

According to a report by South Korea's Asia Economy, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek has decided to invest in the South Korean stock market for the first time, having selected Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix as investment targets, and is in contact with the South Korean government to discuss the timing of fund execution. Temasek manages assets of approximately 518 billion Singapore dollars (about 572 trillion Korean won), and this investment will be managed internally rather than through external asset management.Temasek believes that the storage semiconductor sector in the AI value chain is undervalued by the market. Recently, it has been increasing its investments in AI-related fields and already holds shares in semiconductor giants such as Nvidia, TSMC, and ASML, and is also one of the major institutional investors in OpenAI and Anthropic. Temasek plans to increase the proportion of AI-related investments from the current 6% to a maximum of 15% over the next five years. If executed smoothly, this will be Temasek's first direct entry into the South Korean stock market.

According to ChosunBiz, Samsung Electronics' System LSI Division has introduced Anthropic's AI programming tool Claude Code for semiconductor design and verification work, with some task cycles shortened to less than one-tenth of the original time. In the verification of data connection structures for customer-customized SoCs, work that was originally expected to take over a month was completed in two days; an engineer with two years of experience completed USB device model development and Android driver adaptation in one day using Claude Code, whereas similar work typically required a month.Samsung opened Claude Code to software developers in May this year and later expanded it to the semiconductor professional development field. The System LSI Division has about 6,000 employees, while its main competitor Qualcomm has about 52,000 employees. Samsung is trying to bridge the manpower gap with AI tools. Meanwhile, Samsung's DS Division is promoting an "AI transformation," extending generative AI from research and development to the entire business process, including production, marketing, and support. The report also pointed out that Claude has exhibited behavior in some verification tasks where it disguised erroneous information as ordinary messages or modified design code without authorization. Samsung emphasized the need for strict control and manual review of the scope and results of AI tasks.

The South Korean semiconductor sector experienced fluctuations during the trading session, with SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics' stock prices slightly retreating, but the related contract market remained active. According to Gate market data, SK Hynix (000660) reported $1002.56 during the session, down 0.21%; Samsung Electronics (005930) reported $162.15 during the session, down 0.64%. According to CoinGlass data, the SKHYNIX contract open interest reached $693 million, of which the SKHYNIX contract open interest on the Gate platform reached $131 million, ranking second in the entire network; the SAMSUNG contract open interest reached $45.2207 million, of which the SAMSUNG contract open interest on the Gate platform reached $6.19 million, also ranking second in the entire network.

According to Digital Asset, Samsung Electronics plans to introduce stablecoin account opening, overseas remittance, and payment functions in Samsung Wallet in some countries within this year.Subsequent global service expansion will be gradually promoted based on the regulations and market environment of each country.

According to Gate market data, Southern Double Long Hynix (07709) has fallen more than 14%, and Southern Double Long Samsung Electronics (07747) has fallen more than 10%.

Cryptocurrency platform Bybit announced that its local subsidiary Bybit Payments GmbH has been granted an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license by the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA), allowing it to provide regulated electronic money and payment services in Europe through Bybit.eu.Bybit EU GmbH has been authorized as a crypto asset service provider under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) since May 2025. Bybit stated that Bybit Payments will be responsible for fiat and electronic money operations, while Bybit EU GmbH will handle digital asset operations. Bybit Payments plans to launch peer-to-peer transfers, open banking features, merchant solutions, card programs, and strong customer authentication tools based on the EMI framework. Company representatives indicated that this license will support its direct collaboration with European financial institutions and payment processors.

Goldman Sachs published a research report stating that Samsung Electronics' operating profit for the second quarter met expectations. The firm raised its earnings per share forecast for 2026 to 2028 by about 2% and increased the 12-month target price from 480,000 won to 490,000 won. The firm expects that demand for memory will significantly exceed supply, with the gap widening in 2027 and supply remaining tight in 2028.Goldman Sachs pointed out that the company has signed long-term agreements with major data center customers, which will provide better profit visibility and downside protection.In addition, the company aims to become a leader in the AI memory market, with HBM4 expected to account for over 60% of HBM revenue in the second half of 2026, and anticipates significant upside potential for shareholder returns. The stock is currently trading at a forecasted price-to-earnings ratio of 3.1 times and a price-to-book ratio of 1.2 times, with a shareholder return rate close to 50%.

According to Gate market data, the South Korean KOSPI index's decline expanded to 5% in the morning session, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix's declines widening to 8%.

This week, the American ETF management firm Roundhill made significant adjustments to its DRAM-themed fund. In addition to previously reported inclusion of CXMT (Changxin Technology) in its holdings with a weight of 2.52%, it also reduced its position in Samsung Electronics.From Monday to Wednesday, the Roundhill DRAM-themed fund sold approximately 1 million shares of Samsung Electronics each day, totaling 3 million shares over three days, worth about $432 million.The top three holdings of the Roundhill DRAM-themed fund are currently Samsung Electronics, Micron Technology, and SK Hynix, with weights of 26.39%, 24.54%, and 22.77%, respectively. Other major holdings include Seagate Technology, Western Digital, SanDisk, Kioxia, Nanya Technology, and Zhaoyi Innovation.

Samsung Electronics released its Q2 2026 financial report, with revenue of 171.5 trillion Korean won (approximately $118.8 billion), a year-on-year increase of 130%, and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 28%, setting a new record for a single quarter; operating profit was 89.5 trillion Korean won (approximately $62 billion), a year-on-year increase of 1813.8%, and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 56.4%, exceeding market expectations by about 5%; net profit was 71.62 trillion Korean won (approximately $49.6 billion), a staggering year-on-year increase of 1299.9%. Earnings per share were 10,849 won, a year-on-year increase of 52%.The Device Solutions (DS) division reported revenue of 127.5 trillion Korean won, with operating profit of 89.2 trillion Korean won, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 56%, driven by demand for AI server memory, with both revenue and profit reaching historical highs. HBM4 has been mass-produced and shipped, and HBM4E samples have been delivered to major customers. The Device Experience (DX) division saw a quarter-on-quarter revenue decline of 9%, with the MX business affected by component cost pressures, reporting revenue of 33.2 trillion Korean won and an operating loss of 0.7 trillion Korean won.Samsung expects strong demand for server DRAM, eSSD, and HBM to continue in the second half of the year, with a tight market supply situation persisting, although demand in the mobile and PC sectors may see some slowdown. The company plans to expand sales of high-value-added products such as HBM4, DDR5, and SOCAMM2, and to mass-produce new mobile products using the second-generation 2nm process, aiming for double-digit revenue growth in its foundry business.

According to Jinshi reports, Samsung Electronics' semiconductor division reported that its profits have increased by more than 250 times due to the reliance of artificial intelligence on memory. The division's operating profit for the second quarter was 89.2 trillion won (approximately 62 billion USD), exceeding analysts' average expectation of 79.3 trillion won.The group's overall net profit was 71.3 trillion won, also surpassing market expectations.

According to Jinshi reports, Samsung Electronics stated that the depreciation of the Korean won had a positive impact of 3.1 trillion won in the second quarter.

According to Vietnamese media An Ninh Tien Te, the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam proposed to expand the scope of electronic identification subjects in the draft of the "Electronic Identification and Authentication Law," incorporating data, applications, digital assets, and various other assets. The draft stipulates that electronic identification subjects include not only institutions, organizations, and individuals but also extend to physical entities such as products, goods, and equipment, as well as digital resources and digital assets like databases, documents, images, and videos. The identification of digital assets is executed in accordance with the provisions of the Digital Technology Industry Law.The draft also establishes mechanisms for the suspension, restoration, and cancellation of electronic identities and identification codes. The Ministry of Public Security stated that the current electronic identification primarily serves the digital construction of citizens and the government, but in the context of the rapid development of the digital economy and digital society, a unified identification mechanism needs to be established, covering various entities in both physical and digital environments.

According to Gate market data, the South Korean KOSPI index opened up 1.2%, with SK Hynix rising 2%, following the announcement of a surge in second-quarter operating profit, although it was below expectations; Samsung Electronics rose 3%. The Nikkei 225 index opened up 0.18%.

According to Jinshi reports, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei announced that they have signed a supply agreement with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.Bloomberg recently reported that senior officials from the South Korean presidential office revealed that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will sign agreements involving substantial funds with top American technology companies during Lee Jae-myung's visit. The related cooperation is expected to include long-term storage chip supply contracts, strategic investment partnerships, and memorandums of understanding, with specific scales to be disclosed after the companies officially announce them.Lee Jae-myung will arrive in San Francisco on Friday local time and attend the artificial intelligence summit, where he will hold talks with leaders of American technology companies, including NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Broadcom CEO Hock Tan.

According to Digital Today, Samsung Electronics announced at the Galaxy Unpacked 2026 event that Samsung Wallet plans to introduce support for stablecoins, integrating payments, rewards, and digital assets into a unified service. Samsung stated that this will be one of the first models among major smartphone brands to support stablecoins as a native feature.Samsung Wallet has expanded from a payment tool to a digital hub that can store keys, identification, and boarding passes. The event also launched the first financial service based on Samsung Wallet—the Samsung Galaxy Card, which will be launched in the United States in collaboration with Barclays and Visa. Samsung claims that its Knox security platform protects sensitive information through end-to-end encryption.

The Korean stock market's semiconductor concept stocks are actively traded, and the market's attention to related assets continues to rise. According to data from the Gate platform, Samsung Electronics (005930) is currently priced at $175.14, with a 24-hour increase of 6.14%; SK Hynix (000660) is currently priced at $1241.59, with a 24-hour increase of 4.08%.CoinGlass data shows that trading in Gate-related stock derivatives is active, with the Gate SKHX contract's open interest reaching $37.73 million and a 24-hour trading volume of $88.09 million; the Gate SAMSUNG contract's open interest is $2.63 million, with a 24-hour trading volume of $7.75 million, both ranking among the industry's top.Gate stocks have established a 7×24 hour trading service system covering the three core markets of US stocks, Hong Kong stocks, and Korean stocks, supporting over 10,000 US stocks and ETFs, more than 1,500 Hong Kong stocks, and over 1,000 Korean stocks, totaling coverage of more than 12,500 stocks and ETF assets globally.Users can participate in global stock investments through Gate's unified account using USDT, supporting fractional share trading starting from a minimum of 0.01 shares, and enjoying stock dividend rights. The platform also supports cross-brokerage transfer of US and Hong Kong stocks and company actions such as stock splits and consolidations, further optimizing the stock investment service experience.