"'No.1' Samsung Challenged: Japanese Government Provides 890 Billion Won Support to 'No.2 Nand' Kioxia"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The Japanese government has decided to provide up to 92.9 billion yen (approximately 890 billion KRW) in support to its domestic semiconductor company Kioxia, which holds the second-largest market share in the representative memory semiconductor NAND flash market.

According to the Asahi Shimbun on the 27th, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced the day before that it will provide up to 92.9 billion yen in support for the semiconductor factory being constructed in Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture, by Kioxia and the American semiconductor company Western Digital. The two companies are planning to invest 278.8 billion yen to mass-produce the latest 6th generation 3D flash memory used in smartphones and other devices. The Japanese government will be supporting about one-third of the investment funds.

Koichi Hagiuda, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, explained the support plan by saying, "We judged that it would help ensure stable semiconductor production."

Asahi reported that Kioxia holds the second-largest share in the NAND market and is partnering with Western Digital to compete against Samsung Electronics, the industry leader. According to TrendForce, in the first quarter of this year, Samsung Electronics held the largest NAND market share at 35.3%, followed by Kioxia at 18.9%, SK Hynix (including Solidigm) at 18.0%, Western Digital at 12.5%, and Micron at 10.9%.

Asahi also reported that this support comes from a semiconductor production facility support fund of 617 billion yen established by the Japanese government. Of this fund, 476 billion yen is also being used to support TSMC's Kumamoto factory, a Taiwanese foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturer).

Japan imports about 60% of its domestic semiconductor demand from China, Taiwan, and other countries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.