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The downturn in chip market has not turned Samsung Electronics to economize on future growth investment as Korea’s top technology company kept up quarterly research and development (R&D) spending to explore new innovations and inventions above $4 billion for the last six months, corporate report showed.

The company’s R&D spending amounted to 5.03 trillion won ($4.21 billion) in the January-March period, slightly down from an all-time high level of 5.31 trillion won in the previous quarter, but stayed over $4 billion for the second straight quarter.

Samsung Electronics’ R&D expenditure hovered around 3 trillion won in 2016 and hit the 4 trillion won mark for the first time in the second quarter of 2017.

The ratio of the company’s R&D spending to sales came to 9.6 percent in the first quarter, higher than 7.7 percent in 2018 and 7.0 percent in 2017.

Samsung Electronics is expected to maintain the current level of R&D spending even as it has turned conservative in facility investment amid slowdown in memory chip market.

Under current pace, the company’s R&D spending could hover above last year’s 18.66 trillion won and surpass the 20 trillion won mark for the first time.

Industry watchers say Samsung Electronics’ R&D spending grew steadily and is poised for a further rise given its massive investment plans for its non-memory and foundry business as well as artificial intelligence, 5G, biologics and other future growth engines.

The company is also expected to spend money to enhance next-generation chip packaging business to be acquired from Samsung Electro-Mechanics next month.

The quarterly data also showed Samsung Electronics obtained 801 patents in Korea and 1,673 in the U.S. as a result of its R&D investment in the first quarter.

[ⓒ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]