Scheduled to Handle Division Agenda at Regular General Meeting on the 29th
DB HiTek, which is splitting its foundry (manufacturing) and brand (design) businesses, announced plans to pursue the simultaneous growth of both businesses in the future. In the foundry business, the company will focus on the power semiconductor sector and consider large-scale new facility investments. In the brand business, it plans to expand its product portfolio centered on advanced display design.
On the 23rd, DB HiTek revealed its growth strategy related to the division of the foundry and brand business units. At the board meeting held on the 7th, the division of the brand business unit was proposed as an agenda item for this year’s regular shareholders’ meeting, and additional detailed plans were presented this time.
DB HiTek plans to focus on the core businesses of both units and pursue mutual growth based on specialized competitiveness. The company explained, “The foundry will be reborn as a pure foundry centered on high-profit power semiconductors,” adding, “The newly established subsidiary after the brand business split will focus on the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display driver chip sector.”
After the split, the foundry business will concentrate on advancing specialized foundry capabilities. Based on power semiconductors with a global competitive edge, it will expand high-value-added high-voltage products and specialized sensor product lines. The company plans to increase the proportion of applications in automotive and industrial sectors to strengthen profitability. In particular, it will focus on developing next-generation power semiconductor technologies such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN).
Based on the pure foundry business, DB HiTek will also expand its sales capabilities. The company expects that, through the production capacity secured after the split, it can increase production volume by about 15,000 wafers per month without additional investment. This effect is equivalent to an investment of approximately 300 billion KRW, and the company explains that annual sales could increase by more than 100 billion KRW. DB HiTek is also considering large-scale new facility investments worth trillions of KRW to drive growth in the foundry business.
The brand business unit will grow into a leading domestic fabless company specializing in advanced display design. By increasing smartphone OLED products, it plans to establish itself as a key supplier to global advanced display companies. The company will also expand application fields to TVs and automobiles in the future. In the LCD sector, it will strengthen product characteristics such as ultra-high speed and low power consumption to increase market share in the Greater China panel market. In the mid to long term, it will enter the new high-growth miniLED TV market and expand its product portfolio to include power semiconductors for displays.
Through these initiatives, DB HiTek expects the foundry business to achieve a corporate value of 4 trillion KRW and the brand business to reach 2 trillion KRW, aiming to grow into a company with a total corporate value of 6 trillion KRW.
Meanwhile, DB HiTek will handle the agenda for the brand business division at the regular shareholders’ meeting on the 29th. The plan is to spin off the brand business unit into a 100% subsidiary tentatively named 'DB Fabless' and focus on the foundry business. A DB HiTek official explained, “Physical division is inevitable for the mutual growth of both the foundry and brand businesses,” adding, “To establish an independent management system for the brand business, we will maintain a subsidiary system after the physical division.”
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