이 기사는 2019년 12월 09일 08:00 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

Samsung Electronics’ Device Solutions, which produce semiconductors and displays, is looking to strengthen its semiconductor packaging business.

Last year the company elevated its Test & Package (TP) center, a division responsible for the back-end process of chip formation, to a specialized business unit called Test & System Package (TSP). It also took over the PLP (Panel Level Package) unit from its affiliate Samsung Electro-Mechanics for 785 billion won ($660 million) in June. With such moves, it has recently been rumored that the company could spin off its TSP team, though this appears less likely at the present.

The TSP team’s role within the South Korean tech giant has become increasingly important, according to industry sources on December 3. Such a change in the organization has led to a speculation about another spin-off of the company’s business unit, following the LCD unit’s spin-off to be formed as a separate entity called Samsung Display in 2012.

The likelihood of the spin-off, however, seems to be slim. “[Samsung Electronics’] focus on the packaging business has seemingly led to such a speculation, but there has been no discussion about it,” said a person familiar with the company’s thinking. “Investment is still underway, including the take-over of the PLP business from Samsung Electro-Mechanics, so it is too early to talk about forming a separate entity.”

But there is no doubt that Samsung Electronics is looking to bolster its chip packaging business. “Now there is little room for cost reduction in the front-end process of manufacturing semiconductors,” said another industry source. “The back-end process is getting more important where there are additional cost reduction opportunities.”

Industry experts say the talks about the TSP’s spin-off seem less realistic, particularly given that the PLP business recently absorbed into the TSP team is expected to continue to make a loss in the foreseeable future. The PLP business is forecasted to post an operating loss of 127.3 billion won ($107 million) in the June-December period of this year and suffer another operating loss of 215.5 billion won ($181 million) in 2020.

Samsung Electronics’ TSP team is currently led by Baek Hong-joo, a semiconductor expert who has more than 30-year experience in the semiconductor industry. Under his management, the TSP team has succeeded in developing the industry’s first 12-layer 3D-TSV (Through Silicon Via) technology in October.

“Performance of semiconductor products is advancing fast, while their size is getting smaller, which explains why the semiconductor packaging process requires high technologies,” said an industry source. “[Samsung Electronics] is reportedly focusing on broadening a technological gap with competitors, rather than discussing a spin-off.”

(By reporter Kim Seul-gi)