Finance Chief: The Briefing – September 2026

South Korea's AI Chip Boom Powers a Record 2027 Budget

South Korea has announced a record fiscal 2027 budget exceeding ₩821tn (US$598bn), driven by an increase in corporate tax revenue from the boom in the AI memory chip sector.

The surge – which saw semiconductor shipments surge by 209% to US$46.7tn – has been driven by global demand from data centre operators and tech leaders like NVIDIA.

Capitalising on the growth in tax revenues, South Korea President Lee Jae Myung plans for the budget to allocate ₩21.3tn (US$15.5bn) to go towards semiconductors, AI data centres and physical AI.

However, central bankers and economists are expressing concerns over potential economic problems, such as an increase of property prices and a rise in household debt.

CXO Summit

Location and Date: London, 6-8 October

CEOs, senior executives and industry leaders share insight, knowledge and strategy at one of 2026’s most important leadership summits.

The New York Summit

Location and Date: New York City, 20-21 April

Across one connected experience, senior executives, industry experts and solution providers will come together to share strategies and explore the ideas driving business transformation.

Deloitte: Annual Spend on AI for Personal Use Reaches US$1.29bn

According to data from Deloitte, UK employees are spending an estimated £958m (US$1.29bn) a year on gen AI.

It found that almost a third of gen AI users across the UK workforce adopt these tools without employer knowledge – a practice commonly referred to as “shadow AI”.

This kind of adoption comes from a lack of oversight, with 65% of users reporting unconvincing leadership regarding workplace AI policy.

Deloitte adds that nearly 23% of users sense a workplace stigma around AI usage, and 64% of weekly users fear management will view the technology as a replacement for their role.

Currently, usage focuses on daily tasks like information retrieval, drafting emails and text summarisation.

Industry leaders emphasise that enterprises must provide clear leadership, guardrails and purpose in order for AI to go from performing daily routine tasks to more complex, value-adding work.

US Debt Tops US$40tn as the Bond Market Shrugs

US national debt has more than doubled in a decade following years of heavy spending under the Trump and Biden administrations.

In 2016, the national debt was at just below US$20tn.

US$40tn is larger than everything the US economy produces in a year and is larger than every American household’s debt combined.

If the world’s richest person were to attempt to pay it off, their entire fortune would barely make a difference.

The US now owes close to 100% of annual GDP, a level last seen in the aftermath of the Second World War.

Discussing the debt, Jamie Dimon, CEO at JPMorgan Chase, says a market reckoning will come, adding: “There will be a bond crisis, and then we'll have to deal with it.”

Reading List 

Finance is all about numbers. But what about the words? Explore the top reads in finance this month.

Title: The Intelligent Investor
Author: Benjamin Graham

Benjamin Graham’s historical “value investing” philosophy has inspired investors for more than 70 years and is considered to be a bible among global stock traders.

Title: The Psychology of Money 
Author: Morgan Housel

Exploring personal behaviours and how they impact financial decisions, The Psychology of Money offers readers timeless lessons on money and happiness.

Title: A Random Walk Down Wall Street
Author: Burton Malkiel

Introducing efficient market hypotheses, Burton Malkiel’s book provides insight on what to do during times of volatility.

Title: The Little Book of Common Sense Investing
Author: John C. Bogle

Famed mutual fund pioneer John C. Bogle explains why low-cost index funds are so effective at building wealth over long term investments.

Chime Acquires Stride for US$590m Amid AI Banking Strategy

Chime has agreed to acquire Stride Bank’s parent company in an all-cash transaction valued at US$590m.

The deal is expected to close in H1 2027 and will see Chime rebranded as Chime Bank.

The firm will vertically integrate its AI-native platform and will also keep its consolidated assets below the US$10bn threshold for the foreseeable future.

JLR to Cut 4,000 Roles in US$2.7bn Cost-Saving Overhaul

The UK government has ruled out plans to offer state support for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) as the carmaker looks to implement a £1.7bn (US$2.7bn) cost-saving strategy.

With falling revenues and intense market competition from countries like China, JLR plans to cut 4,000 jobs across two years as part of this strategy.

Starling Targets SMEs with Tailored AI Financial Assistant

Starling has launched a new version of its free AI tool, Starling Assistant.

The tool is designed to simplify financial admin for small businesses and is powered by Google Gemini.

The assistant can automate tasks like setting aside amounts for VAT purposes and analysing scam invoices, as well as advising business owners on financial decisions.

Intel Raises US$23bn as Investors Buy into Silicon Comeback

Intel has raised US$23bn through an equity sale, a financial development that will help fund its turnaround strategy and allow it to invest in the semiconductor market.

The funding will support Intel’s Foundry expansions and increasing data centre CPU demand.

Additionally, the firm’s second-quarter revenue reached US$16.1bn, driven by AI infrastructure growth.

Citi acts as Lender to Japan for US-Japan Energy Initiative

Japan Invest 4 and Japan Invest 5, two US financing companies established by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, have secured US$4.6bn in syndicated loans to support natural gas-fired power generator projects across Pennsylvania and Texas.

The investments aim to meet US electricity demand driven by AI data centres and improve industrial competitiveness and economic security.

NVIDIA Advances AI Infrastructure with US$500bn in Funding

NVIDIA has raised US$500bn in funding from Wall Street giants like Apollo, BlackRock and Goldman Sachs to support the further development of AI infrastructure –, in particular, large-scale data centres capable of housing and operating vast amounts of computer chips for AI-powered operations.

The huge investment reflects a growing trend among financial solutions to view AI computing capacity as an income-generating asset class, not just a tech product. Currently, NVIDIA holds an estimated 75% share of the US chip market, and rental costs for its H100 GPUs have only increased in recent years.

However, many industry experts highlight that GPUs may depreciate faster than anticipated as new hardware emerges, not to mention growing competition from Chinese manufacturers and the subsequent competition. 

Despite this, technology companies have collectively invested more than US$1tn in AI over the past three years, and NVIDIA’s market valuation now has grown fivefold in over the same period, the amount now exceeding US$5tn.