Hamamatsu Photonics Acquires 55% Share in Korean Branch

Hamamatsu Photonics has acquired a 55% stock share in Hamamatsu Photonics Korea Co. Ltd., a new company where Hamamatsu Photonics has shifted its local sales distributor activities. Hamamatsu aims to increase sales in Asia by strengthening its sales structure for imaging and measurement instruments and responding to the demands of Korean semiconductor manufacturers.

The Korean semiconductor industry has seen rapid growth since the 1990s. Currently, Korean semiconductor manufacturers have a high share in the semiconductor memory chip market, yet they are also taking measures to expand their share in the market of logic chips that have higher added value.

In a March 19 statement, Hamamatsu said it believes Korean semiconductor manufacturers are likely to expand their business even further with the spread of AI and 5G technology and a recovery in business investments in data centers. The company has been selling imaging and measurement instruments such as failure analysis systems for semiconductor memory chips via local sales distributors in Korea.

The new company will take over the sales and service activities of Korean sales distributor MODOO TEK Co. Ltd (MDT) and is aimed at expanding sales of failure analysis systems for semiconductor memories and logic devices.

Hamamatsu stated that within four years it intends to double the sales of imaging and measurement instruments currently made through MDT, achieving annual sales of 2 billion yen (about $18 million) from the local subsidiary. The company also plans to expand sales in Asia through business links with subsidiaries in China and Taiwan. The new company was established Dec. 30, 2019, on the premise that Hamamatsu Photonics would form a local subsidiary there.

Hamamatsu Photonics currently markets and sells products such as electron tube products and opto-semiconductor devices through separate sales distributors, but is assessing the possibility of conducting future sales through the local subsidiary. Hamamatsu Photonics will also build up a system for R&D work on prototype devices at the local side to meet customer issues and needs.