Samsung expects capital expenditure (capex) for 2017 to be approximately KRW46.2 trillion (US$41.5 billion), a significant increase from 2016. Capex for the semiconductor and display businesses will be KRW29.5 trillion and KRW14.1 trillion, respectively.

Samsung also disclosed in the third quarter the company invested KRW10.4 trillion including KRW7.2 trillion for the semiconductor business and KRW2.7 trillion for the display segment. This brings the cumulative capex to KRW32.9 trillion as of the end of the third quarter.

Samsung's investments in its memory business are mainly focused on the Pyeongtaek fab where the company plans to expand capacity to address rising demand for the company's V-NAND technology; DRAM process migration; and supplementing any capacity loss resulting from the migration.

For the foundry business, Samsung is increasing its 10nm capacity to address rising demand for cutting-edge process technology. And for the OLED business, Samsung has been concentrating its investments on expanding capacity for flexible panels to respond to growing demand.

In the fourth quarter, a substantial portion of the investments will be made in the semiconductor business to build infrastructure related to new sites and cleanrooms, according to Samsung.

Samsung saw its operating profits climb to a record KRW14.53 trillion in the third quarter of 2017. The company credited the positive performance to "strong demand for high-performance memory chipsets for servers and flagship mobile devices."