According to Korean media reports, South Korean chip giant SK Hynix is ready to break the United States restrictions on the export of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines to China, and carry out technological upgrading of its semiconductor factory in China. This is interpreted by the outside world as indicating that with the recovery of the semiconductor market and the improvement of China's high-performance semiconductor manufacturing capacity, some South Korean chip companies are ready to take all available methods to improve the manufacturing process level of their factories in China.
South Korea's "Seoul Economy" reported on the 13th, citing South Korean industry sources, that SK Hynix plans to upgrade some of its dynamic random access memory (DRAM) production equipment in Wuxi, China, to the fourth-generation 10-nanometer process this year. Regarding the news that the Wuxi plant will upgrade its technology, SK Hynix said, "We cannot confirm the specific operation plan of the plant." The Wuxi plant is SK Hynix's core production base and accounts for about 40% of its total DRAM production. Currently, the Wuxi plant is producing two older 10nm DRAM models. It is not easy for SK Hynix to upgrade the technology at its Wuxi plant because the United States has unilaterally restricted the export of EUV lithography machines necessary for manufacturing cutting-edge semiconductors to China since 2019 in order to prevent the rise of China's semiconductor industry.
According to the report, as the global semiconductor market enters a recovery, SK Hynix believes that the expansion of high-performance chip production capacity has been urgent, and it needs 10nm fourth-generation DRAM or higher products to maintain its market share. SK Hynix Chairman Kwak Nok Jeong said at the CES, "We have formed an internal working group on geopolitical issues since last year, and I believe that corporate risks have been mitigated to a large extent."
The rapid improvement of the level of China's semiconductor industry has aroused great attention from Korean media. Yonhap News agency said on the 12th that analysts at investment bank Barclays said in a report that there are "much more" Chinese semiconductor manufacturers than the outside world believes. A recent UBS report said that although the United States is using various ways to prevent the rise of China's semiconductors, China's ability to overcome these limitations should not be underestimated. Chinese companies are stepping up purchases of major semiconductor manufacturing equipment to boost supplies. International semiconductor equipment makers, including ASML of the Netherlands, saw orders from China surge last year.