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| SK hynix' plan in Wuxi, China, is seen in this file photo, Monday. Korea Times file |
By Kim Yoo-chul
Despite market uncertainty for end-user demand due to pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic, semiconductor prices are expected to stabilize throughout the year as the industry's "top three" players remain conservative on capital expenditure and wafer capacity.
As a new business order prevails in the global memory chip industry with Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and Micron Technology of the United States collectively controlling the market, the world's second largest memory chip supplier SK plans to spend 3.2 trillion won on its Chinese plant as scheduled, according to company officials.
"SK will invest 3.2 trillion won in the company's Wuxi plant following growing calls and needs from customers for smoother path of advanced memory chips using 1x, 1y and 1z-scale technology. This is the planned investment and isn't something new," an official at SK said Monday.
SK is operating a cutting-edge memory chip plant in the Chinese city with the Chinese central and regional governments offering financial and administrative support for the project.
The official said the investment isn't primarily aimed at expanding the factory's overall wafer capacity, while some observers noted it was "interesting to see" from SK's emphasis on the less-than-expected coronavirus impact on consumer spending in the latter half of the year.
SK has been testing itself how far the company will go with a much-thinner nanometer-level dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chip technology that includes 1x, 1y, 1z classes. The smaller the nanometer, the greater the yield per wafer, and thus the lower cost per bit.
SK's clients and memory chip suppliers are exploring marketing other types of memory chips and how far they could push that in terms of cost, performance and even endurance. But today's belief is that the industry hasn't really seen another device on the horizon that will replace today's DRAM chips.
Given the situation, the top three memory leaders are in the process of fine-tuning their memory chip technology and squeezing out another nanometer. "Memory chip technology is becoming more complex. Under the new marker order, it's less likely for the industry's top three rational players to engage in a price war. However, memory chips are getting tougher ― in terms of sustainable development," an official at Samsung Electronics added.
SK operates two memory chip fabrication lines in the Chinese city with the company operating M10 and M14 line, each, in Icheon, South Korea. The investment decision by SK also comes after its chief rival Micron Technology was aiming to surpass the South Korean company by ramping up its leading-edge capabilities to both 1x-nanometer and 1y-nanometer chips.
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