Reuters reported that South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix plans to fund a new memory chip factory in New York by expanding production in China, but the investment plan has been slowed because the U.S. export license needed for equipment has yet to be approved.
Dalian expansion tied to U.S. factory funding
The company is applying for a U.S. export license to add equipment at its plant in Dalian. SK Hynix believes that raising output at the site and developing more advanced NAND chip manufacturing technology would help preserve its competitiveness and generate revenue to support its U.S. factory plan.
Two people familiar with the matter said Solidigm, an SK Hynix subsidiary, is planning to invest about $45 billion to build two NAND flash plants in Marcy, New York. Over the longer term, total investment could reach about $100 billion. The report said discussions are still underway, and approval for the Dalian plant expansion is a key factor in the New York project.
License decision still pending
Since late August, Solidigm executives have met U.S. Commerce Department officials nearly 10 times, including meetings with Commerce Secretary Lutnick and Under Secretary Kessler.
Kessler said last week that the United States does not want to allow more U.S. chipmaking equipment to be shipped to China for technology upgrades or capacity expansion. At the same time, the Commerce Department has not formally rejected the license application covering equipment exports to existing unused clean rooms at the Dalian plant.
Solidigm says no final decision has been made
In a statement, Solidigm said it is exploring options to build a NAND flash wafer fab in potential locations around the world and has not decided on any specific course of action.
On Oct. 23, SK Hynix said Solidigm had previously considered an IPO to help raise funds for U.S. production facilities, but had paused its review of a listing because of recent market conditions and stock-price moves.
