US President Joe Biden’s administration is to allow Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc to acquire the equipment they need to sustain and expand their massive chipmaking operations in China, South Korea’s government said, a victory for the world’s two biggest memory makers.
Washington has effectively granted the pair an indefinite waiver on broader restrictions banning the shipment of advanced chipmaking gear to China, the Yonhap News Agency reported, citing a news briefing by South Korean officials. A spokesperson for the presidential office confirmed the account, saying the government would distribute a news release shortly.
The US concession means that Hynix and Samsung are free to import advanced US machinery that would otherwise be prohibited from entering China, but are crucial in allowing the South Korean industrial leaders to operate in the world’s biggest chip arena over the longer term.
Photo: Reuters
Hynix warned last year, when Washington unveiled its broadest series of chip export restrictions, that escalating curbs could force the closure or sale of a major plant in China in a worst-case scenario. It operates a DRAM factory in Wuxi, in central China, which produces a major proportion of its global memory chips, and also runs NAND facilities in the northeast, in Dalian.
“Through close coordination with relevant governments, uncertainties related to the operation of our semiconductor manufacturing lines in China have been significantly removed,” a Samsung Electronics spokesperson said. “We will continue to work closely with all relevant governments to maintain a stable supply chain for the global semiconductor industry.”
“We welcome the US government’s decision to extend a waiver with regard to the export control regulations,” an SK Hynix spokeswoman said in a text message to Bloomberg News.
Late last month, the Biden administration also removed a stringent curb on expansion in China by semiconductor companies that receive federal funds to build plants in the US. It eliminated a US$100,000 spending cap on investments in advanced capacity in China, which would effectively prevent companies that receive federal funding from growing output of chips more advanced than 28 nanometer technology.
Samsung is likely to secure a US grant for new facilities in Texas, while the company also makes NAND in central China in Xian.
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