The US allowed Samsung and SK Hynix to supply their factories in China with American equipment

US authorities have allowed Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to supply US semiconductor manufacturing equipment to their factories in China without the need to obtain special permission from the US. According to the agency Yonhapthe decision takes effect immediately.

“Uncertainty about the activities of South Korean semiconductor manufacturers and their investments in China is removed by this decision,” Choi Sang-mok, senior adviser to the President of South Korea for economic affairs, said during a press conference. According to him, companies will be able to “calmly implement their long-term global strategies.”

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the world’s two largest makers of memory microprocessors, have invested billions of dollars to develop their factories in China. However, in October 2022, the administration of US President Joe Biden introduced new sanctions against China, prohibiting US companies and individuals from selling semiconductors created using US technology without obtaining an export license. Dozens of Chinese companies were blacklisted by the US authorities and trade with them was banned. Simultaneously with the ban, the US authorities issued a one-year permit to trade with China to several large companies, including Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and TSMC. In the summer, US Deputy Secretary of Commerce Alan Estevez statedthat the United States intends to extend this permit to some South Korean and Taiwanese companies.

According to ReutersSamsung Electronics produces about 40% of all its NAND chips at a plant in the Chinese city of Xi’an. SK Hynix produces about 40% of its DRAM chips in Wuxi and 20% of its NAND chips in Dalian. Together, the two companies control nearly 70% of the global DRAM chip market and 50% of the NAND processor market, according to data analytics firm TrendForce.

Alena Miklashevskaya