Samsung Electronics raises prices for some advanced foundry services by up to 15%

Reuters reported on the 19th, citing multiple sources, that Samsung Electronics raised the prices of some advanced foundry (semiconductor consignment production) services by up to 15% for new orders.

According to sources, Samsung Electronics raised the price of semiconductors produced through the 4-nano process last month. The price increase was applied to Chinese and American customers by 10 to 15%, and to Taiwanese customers by 5 to 10%.

In addition, the price of wafers produced in the 5-nano process has increased by 10-15%, and the price of wafers produced in the previous generation, 8-nano technology, has also reportedly increased by nearly 10%.

Sources said that demand from Chinese customers was particularly strong, but Samsung Electronics was unable to fulfill all orders as it had to respond to volumes from U.S. customers and allocate its own volume for its own semiconductor production.

One source said Chinese customers were among the groups that accepted the biggest price increases. Reuters reported that this shows that Chinese companies' dependence on overseas foundries has increased due to U.S. restrictions on the export of advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China.

An official familiar with the price increase said that Google is also negotiating with Samsung Electronics to produce chips using the 4-nano process.

Citing sources, Reuters reported that Samsung Electronics' Pyeongtaek 4-nano production line has been in full operation at 100% since the end of last year.

This line produces base dies used in Samsung Electronics' own high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips as well as logic chips used by customers such as Qualcomm.

Previously, Samsung Electronics announced in a conference call announcing its second quarter earnings on the 30th of last month that it will begin mass production of the 2-nano second-generation process in the second half of this year and that its profitability will improve significantly due to improvements in operation rate and yield, and price increases.

In response to a Reuters report on the same day that foundry service prices had been increased by up to 15%, a Samsung Electronics official said, "We have no confirmation regarding matters related to our customers."