South Korea's two leading chipmakers are announcing large new investments in quick succession, fuelling a wave of orders for equipment makers. SK Hynix's 19 trillion won investment in Cheongju and Samsung Electronics' expansion in Pyeongtaek are expected to bring demand for equipment into full swing. Jusung and Shinsung E&G have confirmed large orders, turning market expectations into reality.

SK Hynix on Jan. 13 announced a 19 trillion won investment in a packaging fab, P&T7, in Cheongju, North Chungcheong province. P&T7, to be built in the Cheongju Technopolis, will be a 70,000-pyeong advanced packaging facility. It is set to break ground in April 2026 and aims to be completed by the end of 2027.

The high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market is expected to grow 33 percent annually through 2030, following last year. SK Hynix's strategy is to build an AI memory production base linked with its M15X front-end fab. M15X opened its cleanroom in October last year earlier than planned and is now setting up equipment in stages.

Samsung Electronics is also stepping up expansion of 1c DRAM at its Pyeongtaek P4 plant. It plans to secure production capacity of more than 140K by the end of 2026, a move expected to sharply increase equipment demand. According to Daishin Securities, Samsung Electronics will expand 1c DRAM investment at its Pyeongtaek Plant 4 from the first quarter of 2026.

Samsung Electronics will also convert to 1b DRAM at its Hwaseong L15 and L16 lines, and expand and convert to 1c DRAM at P3 and P4. Meritz Securities forecast Samsung Electronics is highly likely to raise DRAM capital expenditure, given a deepening DRAM supply shortage and relatively ample fab space versus competitors.

With the larger investments, 2026 capital expenditure by the three memory makers is expected to rise 13 percent from a year earlier. Daishin Securities said global semiconductor equipment investment is expected to grow 9 percent this year, with memory and foundry investment expanding together. It said that, unlike 2025 when investment was mainly focused on conversions, new fab investment will gain momentum from this year, increasing the benefit for equipment makers.

Equipment makers see broad-based benefits, with signs of earnings improvement

Order news is also emerging in the semiconductor equipment sector. Jusung said on Jan. 12 it won an additional order from Samsung Electronics for 310 units of its second-generation humidity control solution, JFS. It supplied nearly six times the volume just a month after an initial delivery of 50 systems in December. A large additional order was placed within the short period of one month after the initial supply. On the news, Jusung shares hit the daily limit up during trading on Jan. 12 and ended at 6,530 won, up 1,500 won, or 29.82 percent, from the previous session. ISTE also said on Jan. 14 it signed an 1.8 billion won contract to supply FOUP cleaning equipment to SK Hynix's China production unit.

Orders are continuing in on-site equipment as well. Cleanroom company Shinsung E&G supplied 35 units of its self-developed construction equipment, HPL, to Samsung Electronics' Pyeongtaek site and SK Hynix's Cheongju site. HPL applies a ground-based modular method when installing cleanroom ceilings, reducing worker risk and cutting construction time by 20 percent. Shinsung E&G said it has entered full-capacity operation as orders increase.

Daishin Securities said equipment is the most attractive segment for basket buying among materials, components and equipment at this point. It expects NAND conversion investment to increase from a year earlier, in addition to new equipment orders for M15X and P4. As an example, Eugene Technology has the highest exposure to Samsung Electronics' 1c DRAM investment, while TES and PSK are drawing attention as general-purpose equipment suppliers that receive orders in both DRAM and NAND conversion and new investment.

Investment is also expected to continue after 2027. Investment in the Yongin cluster is under way with a target completion in May 2027, and Samsung Electronics' Pyeongtaek P5 aims to begin operations in 2028. Meritz Securities said that, as cleanroom preparation for large fabs is carried out in succession, strong share performance in the equipment sector is likely to last longer. An industry official said major semiconductor companies are speeding up fab expansion. The official said that, unlike past periods when orders were won as a sole vendor, a growing number of companies are adopting multiple vendors while prioritising speed and performance, raising the chances of winning orders.