When Amkor went public in 1998, it called itself the world's largest independent provider of chip packaging and test services. Most of its work happened in Korean factories owned by a separate company, Anam, run by its CEO's family. James Kim had founded Amkor's predecessor in 1968. Chip companies designed the silicon. Amkor wrapped each chip in a protective package, wired it to the outside world and tested it. Asia was in a financial crisis, and Korea was hit hard.

A Family Business in Two Countries

James Kim founded Amkor Electronics in 1968 and served as its chairman from 1970. His father, H. S. Kim, had founded Anam Industrial in Korea in 1956. The two companies worked hand in hand. In 1996 and 1997, most of Amkor's revenue came from packaging done in four Anam factories in Korea, with Amkor running three more plants in the Philippines. The bet was that chipmakers would hand off packaging and testing to a specialist, the same way many already handed off manufacturing.

Eleven Dollars a Share

Amkor priced its IPO at $11 a share on May 1, 1998, alongside an offering of convertible notes, and listed on Nasdaq as AMKR. Over the following years it bought the Anam factories it had relied on. It grew into one of the biggest outsourced chip packaging companies in the world, with plants across Asia. Its headquarters moved to Arizona. Amkor is still public on Nasdaq.

Cover: A Pair of Carp, Korea, Joseon dynasty. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a pair of carp in Korean ink (Amkor's Korean roots).