Samsung Electronics' manufacturing plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province / Korea Times file

By Lee Kyung-min

Only three Korean firms made the list of the world's top 100 semiconductor powerhouses by market cap, a study showed Monday, an indication that the global competitive edge of Korea's growth drivers is being blunted due to low overall productivity and high unit prices.

The report by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) said the poor global performances of Korea's chipmakers is in part explained by the country's high corporate tax of 26.9 percent as of last year, a major growth-stunting market condition compared to that of the U.S. (13 percent) and Taiwan (12.1 percent).

The FKI's data showed Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and SK square were among the global 100 chipmakers in the first nine months of this year.

They were among a combined 48 firms from the Chip 4 alliance, a consultative bloc of semiconductor powerhouses comprising Korea, the U.S., Japan and Taiwan. Twenty-eight were from the U.S., followed by 10 from Taiwan and seven from Japan.

The net profit of the three has dwindled in recent years, a concerning development since other members of the alliance all saw increased profits.

The figure for the three declined to 14.4 percent in 2021, down 1.9 percentage points from 2018. The U.S., Japan and Taiwan all saw respective increases of 3.9 percentage points, 2 percentage points and 1.1 percentage points in the same period.

Of greater concern is the explosive growth of China, underpinned by state policy assistance coupled with soaring domestic market demand.

The annual sales growth of Chinese firms between 2018 and 2021 averaged 26.7 percent, about 3.3 times more than the average sales growth of non-Chinese firms in the same period.

Facility investment relative to operating cash flow came to 124.7 percent for Chinese firms, about three times the 47.7 percent invested by non-Chinese entities.

"Chipmaking is the chief growth driver of Korea, accounting for a fifth of the country's exports, but their standing on the global stage is not as robust due to weakening profitability and declining market capitalization worldwide," the FKI said.