Seoul — Samsung Electronics said on Tuesday it will invest at least $18.6bn in South Korea to extend its lead in memory chips and next-generation smartphone displays, in a plan that promises to create almost half a million jobs. The investment underscores Samsung’s determination to widen its lead in memory chips, which are expected to propel Asia’s third most-valuable company to record profit in 2017. It routinely invests more than $10bn in chips annually, helping it stay ahead of competitors such as cross-town rival SK Hynix and Japan’s Toshiba. The announcement follows repeated calls from new South Korean President Moon Jae-in for big businesses to invest more domestically as part of a wider job-creation agenda. Samsung said its plan could open up to 440,000 roles by 2021. The huge investment is also likely to alleviate shareholder fears of major decisions being delayed in the absence of vice-chairman Jay Y Lee. The leader of Samsung Group is on trial charged with bribing former p...
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