ISTE enhances corporate clientele ahead of Kosdaq listing
Semiconductor equipment manufacturer ISTE has secured a deal to expand its business range ahead of its market debut on the country's secondary bourse Kosdaq, the company announced Monday.
The customer is an outsourced semiconductor assembly and test company with its headquarters based in the US, ISTE explained.
According to the company, the latest deal shows how the company has been responding to new demand from customers and was able to expand its customer range, strengthening its presence in the chip industry.
Meanwhile, ISTE is set to go public on the tech-laden bourse Kosdaq on Wednesday.
Around 2,074 domestic and international institutions participated in the book building last month, leading to a competitive bid ratio of 1,148-to-1. For retail investors, the ratio stood at 455-to-1. The company attracted 844.4 billion won ($582 million) in subscription deposits.
In its securities registration statement, ISTE projected to post 70.6 billion won in sales this year and log 10.5 billion won in operating profit. It further suggested its key product, the Front Opening Unified Pod cleaner, would generate 34.8 billion won in sales this year, marking a 168 percent on-year growth.
ISTE provides chip cleaning equipment to 13 companies in and out of Korea, including big names such as SK hynix, Samsung Electronics and SK Siltron.
'Visiting the CES trade show held in Las Vegas last month, the HBM (high-bandwidth memory) market is likely to continue expansion, and the market for semiconductor glass substrate is projected to show sharp growth, fostering a favorable environment for the company products,' ISTE CEO Cho Chang-hyun said through a press release.
'We will continue to expand business to boost shareholder return and communicate with investors following the listing.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
12 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Seoul shares spike 1.8% on bargain hunting in defense, energy, IT sectors
South Korean stocks closed sharply higher Monday, driven by bargain hunting and big gains in the defense, energy and IT sectors. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index jumped 52.04 points, or 1.8 percent, to close at 2,946.66. Trade volume was heavy at 718.1 million shares worth 14.3 trillion won ($10.5 billion), with winners outnumbering losers 619 to 278. Retail investors and institutions net purchased 45.4 billion won and 252.9 billion won worth of local shares, respectively, while foreigners unloaded 322.4 billion won. "The Kospi rebounded after only a one-day fall as retail investors moved to purchase shares at bargains," Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said, noting the tensions in the Middle East will likely have limited impact on the South Korean stock market in the mid-to-long term. On Friday, major US indexes lost ground as Israel's airstrikes on Iranian military and nuclear facilities sapped investors' risk appetite. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.79 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite went down 1.3 percent, and the S&P 500 decreased 1.13 percent. In Seoul, major chipmaker SK hynix jumped 5.31 percent to 248,000 won, while its rival Samsung Electronics shed 1.89 percent to 57,200 won. Defense and energy shares were bullish in particular. Hanwha Aerospace gained 2.75 percent to 970,000 won, Hyundai Rotem soared 6.32 percent to 198,600 won, and Hanwha Systems shot up 18.01 percent to 64,200 won. Major nuclear power plant manufacturer Doosan Enerbility surged 9.16 percent to 59,600 won, and HD Hyundai Electric advanced 6.16 percent to 456,500 won. IT shares also gained ground, with top internet portal operator Naver adding 4.49 percent to 209,500 won, and Kakao, the operator of the country's dominant mobile messenger, rising 3.3 percent to 53,200 won. Shipbuilders were also strong, with HD Hyundai Heavy surging 5.03 percent to 449,000 won, and HD Korea Shipbuilding climbing 4.85 percent to 367,500 won. The local currency was quoted at 1,363.8 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., up 5.8 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
2 days ago
- Korea Herald
Samsung, TSMC set stage for fierce race in 2nm chip tech
The global race to lead the market for next-generation 2-nanometer semiconductors is set to intensify in the second half of this year, with leading foundries TSMC and Samsung Electronics preparing to begin mass production. Meanwhile, Intel is looking to leapfrog the competition with the more advanced 1.8nm process, aiming to revive its struggling foundry business. According to industry sources Sunday, TSMC has already begun receiving client orders for its 2nm process node, which is expected to be produced at its Baoshan and Kaohsiung fabs in Taiwan in the second half of this year. For the first time, TSMC is adopting gate-all-around transistor architecture in its 2nm chips, marking a major technological shift. The new node is expected to offer 10-15 percent better performance, 25-30 percent power reduction and a 15 percent increase in transistor density compared to the current 3nm process. Samsung Electronics, the second-largest player in the foundry market, is also targeting the second half of 2025 for the start of its 2nm chip production. In its latest earnings report for the January-March period, Samsung confirmed that it will start mass production of mobile chips using its 2nm process node within the year. While the company did not specify what the product would be, it is widely expected to be the Exynos 2600, the upcoming application process chip for its flagship Galaxy S26 series, set for release in early 2026. Samsung was the industry's first chipmaker to adopt the advanced GAA architecture for its earlier 3nm node process, but it struggled with low yield rates in the initial stages. Leveraging its prior experience with the cutting-edge architecture, the company now aims to improve its manufacturing stability and output at the 2nm level. TSMC, which is dominating the global foundry market, securing 67.6 percent share in the first quarter this year, appears to be on track. Sources say the company has achieved yield rates above 60 percent, crossing the threshold for stable volume production. Samsung, holding a 7.7 percent market share, is tasked with raising its yield rate, which reportedly stands at around 40 percent. Amid the intense competition, the outlook for the 2nm node is optimistic, with demand projected to surpass that of the previous 3nm generation. TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei said during a recent earnings call that demand for 2nm has already outpaced that for 3nm, driven by both smartphone and high-performance computing applications. 'We expect the number of new tape-outs for 2nm technology in the first two years to exceed those of 3nm and even 5nm or 4nm,' Wei said, highlighting robust interest from key customers. Market intelligence firm Counterpoint Research echoed this projection, forecasting that TSMC will achieve full utilization of its 2nm production capacity by the fourth quarter of this year -- faster than any previous node. Major customers are expected to include Apple, Qualcomm, MediaTek, AMD, and even Intel. Samsung's challenge will be to attract top tech clients to remain competitive in the advanced node market. For the mission, the chipmaker has recently brought on board Margaret Han, a former TSMC executive, to lead its US foundry business at Samsung Device Solutions Americas. Meanwhile, US chip giant Intel is betting on its 1.8nm process, branded as 18A, to reassert itself in the foundry market. At a recent Direct Connect event, Kevin O'Buckley, general manager of Intel Foundry Services, admitted the company was behind schedule. 'I'll be very direct to admit we did not deliver all of our schedules for 18A,' he said. Still, he emphasized that 18A is now on track for high-volume manufacturing in the second half of 2025, and that Intel believes it will soon be ready to challenge TSMC and Samsung in advanced nodes.
![[Photo News] Samsung Galaxy S25+ powers Van Gogh Museum](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwimg.heraldcorp.com%2Fnews%2Fcms%2F2025%2F06%2F15%2Fnews-p.v1.20250615.58880357c010459497a57bdf2daefaa1_T1.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
Korea Herald
2 days ago
- Korea Herald
[Photo News] Samsung Galaxy S25+ powers Van Gogh Museum
Samsung Electronics launched a three-year partnership with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, integrating mobile innovation with cultural enrichment, according to the firms on Sunday. Launched on June 10, the museum renewed its audio tour by replacing previous hardware with 1,600 Galaxy S25+ smartphones, offering clearer voice audio and enhanced display quality. The collaboration will also apply Galaxy AI features to future tours for more personalized visitor experiences. (Samsung Electronics)
