According to reports, the market value of South Korea's Samsung Electronics (Samsung) reached 475.1 billion US dollars on the 28th, surpassing TSMC. It is also the first time that Samsung Electronics' market value surpassed TSMC in about 5 months. Experts believe that as the 5G and AI-related markets continue to grow, the outlook for the wafer generation industry in 2021 is optimistic.

The report pointed out that Samsung Electronics’ market value reached 524.35 trillion won (approximately US$475.1 billion), surpassing TSMC’s market value of approximately US$470.1 billion. It is the first time Samsung Electronics’ market value has surpassed TSMC since July 17.

TSMC’s share price soared 63% in the second half of this year. However, due to Samsung Electronics as an integrated equipment manufacturer, the rebound in memory chip prices and the strong performance of the company's foundry business have enabled the company's stock price to obtain a better valuation in the market. Market participants expect that Samsung's flagship product DRAM will enter another super cycle in the first quarter of 2021.

Samsung Electronics’ foundry business is considered to be the main force driving the company’s market value to over 500 trillion won. In 2020, Samsung Electronics won a contract from Qualcomm to use 5-nanometer process technology to produce Qualcomm’s latest mobile phone chip, Snapdragon 888. In addition, Samsung Electronics has also received orders from Nvidia to produce graphics processing units (GPUs).

Analysts said that in terms of market share, TSMC is far ahead of Samsung Electronics' 16.4% with a share of 55.6%, but Samsung Electronics' sales growth potential is far ahead of TSMC.

The report also said that in 2021, the prospects of the foundry industry are more optimistic. With the growth of the 5G mobile communication and AI market, orders for 5G communication chips and GPUs from fabless companies are flooding in, and the backlog may not be digested until the end of 2021. Market experts predict that in 2021, foundry sales will surge by more than 20% from 15.4 trillion won in 2020.