South Korea’s SK Hynix enters exclusive $1 trillion club

South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix has achieved a market valuation of at least $1 trillion, becoming the second company from South Korea to reach this milestone. This significant achievement was driven by a surge in demand for semiconductors essential for artificial intelligence applications. The company's share price has seen substantial growth, increasing 240 percent since the beginning of the year and over 80 percent in the past month alone. This rally reflects a broader AI-driven upturn in the South Korean stock market. SK Hynix's operating profit and revenue also experienced significant year-on-year increases in the first quarter of this year. The company joins a select group of only 17 companies globally that have reached a trillion-dollar valuation.

Samsung Electronics' memory chip division employees will receive significant bonuses, averaging around £310,000 each, due to a new profit-sharing agreement. This deal, which averted a potential strike with 74% of voting workers backing it, allocates 10.5% of the semiconductor division's operating profits for these special bonuses. The agreement, mediated by the South Korean government, aims to resolve a five-month dispute and is a direct result of the AI boom increasing demand and profits for memory chipmakers. This surge in demand for AI data centers has also propelled chipmakers like SK Hynix and Micron to market valuations exceeding $1 trillion.