By Heekyong Yang and Hyunjoo Jin<\/p>\n
SUWON, South Korea, March 18 (Reuters) – Samsung Electronics sees strong demand for chips continuing this year, driven by the global artificial intelligence<\/a> wave, but rising memory chip \u200cprices could hit computer and mobile shipments, its top executive said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n “We expect a favourable business \u200cenvironment due to the increasing demand for AI and the resulting continued shortage of memory supply,” Jun Young-hyun, a Samsung Electronics vice chairman and \u200bco-CEO who oversees the company’s chip business, said at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in Suwon, south of Seoul.<\/p>\n “However, risk factors still persist, including uncertainties in the global macroeconomic environment such as tariff issues and cost burdens in the set business,” he added, referring to televisions, phones and home appliances.<\/p>\n Bottlenecks in global supply of semiconductors stemming from robust demand for \u200cAI data centre operations have curbed memory \u2060chip supply to industries from cars and computers to smartphones<\/a>.<\/p>\n Samsung shares have skyrocketed to record highs this year and are up 62% since January, outperforming the wider South Korean market’s \u206034% gain and delighting shareholders.<\/p>\n The performance has been driven by the global memory chip shortage that has allowed it and rivals including SK Hynix and Micron to sharply hike prices. The three companies dominate global memory chip production.<\/p>\n At last year’s shareholder meeting, \u200bJun \u200bapologised for Samsung initially missing out on the artificial intelligence \u200bchip market, which had led to a share \u200cprice and earnings slump, and tried to appease frustrated shareholders.<\/p>\n But the situation has since improved, with Samsung shares rising 5.3% on Wednesday following strong gains Tuesday after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the South Korean company was producing Nvidia’s new AI chips.<\/p>\n