The Samsung Group on Tuesday announced it will to invest 240 trillion won ($206 billion) in the next three years in order to boost its presence in areas such as artificial intelligence, biopharmaceuticals, semiconductors and robotics in the post-pandemic era.

On Tuesday, Samsung said that the investment through 2023 will help strengthen the global standing of the group in key industries such as chip-making, while allowing it to seek growth opportunities in new areas such as next-generation telecommunications and robotics, Reuters reported.

The company did not say whether the latest investment figure includes the $17 billion it was reportedly spending on a new US chip contract chip factory.

Being the world’s largest memory chip maker, Samsung Electronics said the group plans to solidify technology and market leadership through mergers and acquisitions. However, it did not provide a breakdown of the investment figures.

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According to reports, the plan is 30 percent larger than Samsung’s previous three-year strategy floated in 2018. The group decided to increase investment to retain technological leadership, especially during “emergency situations” at home and abroad.

In a statement, Samsung Electronics said, “The chip industry is the safety plate of the Korean economy… Our aggressive investment is a survival strategy in a sense that once we lose our competitiveness, it is almost impossible to make a comeback.”

It is also said that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (2330.TW) and Intel Corp (INTC.O) are making large investments amid a global chip shortage and intensifying competition in the advanced chip segment.

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According to South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission, Samsung Group has as many as 59 affiliates with assets totalling about 457 trillion won.

This plan comes just over a week since Jay Y. Lee, the Samsung Group leader,  was released from jail on parole following convictions for bribery and embezzlement.