Hynix: Chipping Away and Making Good

Earlier this decade, Hynix Semiconductor (HXSCF) was a poster child for the kind of invest-and-spend mentality that had landed a number of big Korean conglomerates in a world of trouble. It managed to lose $7.2 billion in 2001 and 2002 and was up to its eyeballs in debt. In the notoriously boom-and-bust memory chip market, few thought Hynix had what it took to survive. And there was a time that would have been true if not for a bailout by state-controlled Korean banks.