Technology Wars – Samsung Plans to Decimate Semi Competition with Huge Capital Spending

Technology has consolidated around 5-10 big players around the world who are gobbling up smaller companies and using their huge cash hoards to outspend the competition.Nothing reflects this better than Samsung’s massive capital spending plan this year.With a dominant share in the memory and LCD markets , Samsung with its huge capex spend this year could greatly increase the gap in technology and capacity with its competitors who are still weakened by the last year’s recession.

Samsung is the No.1 in Memory and LCDs and No 2 in the mobile handset market. With a huge footprint spread across mutliple technology segments , Samsung is now planning a major foray into the Green Industry as well.Though not a big player yet in the Green Sector,Samsung possesse the intent and the capability to become the No.1 in this sector as well. This has made me include Samsung as one of the Top 5 Green Picks.

Samsung Plans Record Investments to Widen Lead in Chips, LCDs – Bloomberg

Samsung Electronics Co. plans to outspend Intel Corp., International Business Machines Corp. and Sony Corp. combined to widen its lead as the world’s largest maker of memory chips and flat-panel displays.

Capital expenditure will jump to 18 trillion won ($15.6 billion) this year from 8 trillion won in 2009, Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung Electronics said in a statement today. Including research and development, spending will increase to 26 trillion won, it said.

The largest spending budget in the technology industry may help Samsung build on its market lead and force smaller competitors to boost investments to keep up. Samsung’s purchases may be a boon for equipment makers including Applied Materials Inc. as the industry recovers from the global recession.

Samsung, which said last month it would “substantially” increase its 2010 spending budget, plans to invest 9 trillion won in the memory-chip business, compared with an earlier budget of 5.5 trillion won. Spending on liquid-crystal displays will rise to 5 trillion won from 3 trillion won, it said.