SK Hynix will not sell the Chinese 3D NAND flash memory factory acquired by Intel

According to the terms of the 2020 deal between Intel and SK hynix, the Korean side must pay the American company $2 billion by March 2025, and also take full operational control of the company in Dalian, China, which produces 3D NAND flash memory . Contrary to rumours, SK hynix does not intend to sell the company, even under the current difficult conditions.

In the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year, SK hynix’s sales in the Chinese market fell by almost 60%, but the region remains the company’s most important market, accounting for up to 30% of total sales. Intel’s legacy SK Hynix facility in Dalian is now capable of producing 96-layer and 144-layer 3D NAND memory, the latter type of product officially subject to US export restrictions introduced last October. SK hynix managed to negotiate with US authorities to keep its activities in China unchanged, but the prospects for the development of local business against the background of a general crisis in the memory market are of great concern to industry experts.

The Dalian factory accounts for up to 30% of SK hynix’s 3D NAND memory production, while the Wuxi factory accounts for half of the total DRAM production. The Korean manufacturer also has a memory chip packaging company in Chongqing and is therefore not only dependent on China for the marketing of its products. The Wuxi factory will manufacture the RAM using 10nm technology and may also be subject to US export restrictions when they come into effect.

Rumor has it that the difficult financial situation is pushing SK hynix to sell non-core assets, but the Dalian-based company will not part with the company even under such difficult conditions. First, company representatives in an interview Business Korea denied rumors about the upcoming sale of the company. Since May last year, the company has been building a new storage production facility in Dalian and will now start to equip the completed building with technological equipment, but with an eye on the availability of the investment funds available for this.