Samsung Electronics’ sales activities in China have significantly shrunk amid the deepening conflict between the United States and China. In the latest quarterly report, in fact, the proportion of its Chinese sales to its total sales has dropped to a single digit.According to Samsung Electronics’ qu
Merger talks are accelerating between Kioxia (formerly known as Toshiba Memory), the world's third-largest NAND flash market player, and Western Digital, the fourth-largest. This is because NAND flash prices have been falling since June 2022, and the two companies already made 30 percent product
SK hynix is suffering from a double whammy -- a slump in the global memory semiconductor market and geopolitical risk stemming from the US-China hegemonic war.Global market research firm TrendForce recently released a report stating that SK hynix was preparing to shift its production line in Wuxi, C
The U.S. government, which has restricted the export of advanced semiconductor production equipment to China, is reportedly considering applying relaxed standards only to South Korean companies running factories in China.The U.S. Department of Commerce is in talks with the South Korean government to
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at hwdoh@nhqv.com -- Ed.At SEC, sluggish earnings are to continue into 2Q23. However, orders from customers should resume in 2H23, thanks to memory makers’ meaningful production cuts and reduced inventories at clients. We expe
The author is an analyst of Shinhan Securities. He can be reached at ym.ko@shinhan.com -- Ed.1Q23 review: Low base effect & demand for high-capacity chipsSK Hynix posted an operating loss of KRW3.4tr (continued loss QoQ) on sales of KRW5.1tr (-34% QoQ) for 1Q23, faring better than market expectation
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at hwdoh@nhqv.com -- Ed.SK Hynix’s 1Q23 results came in better than feared. The memory chip market should improve in 2Q23, with prices set to increase from 2H23. The company’s technological prowess for HBM should provide addit
An analysis has been made that Samsung Electronics has started to cut production of NAND flash, centering on its memory semiconductor plant in Xian, China.According to Taiwanese market research firm TrendForce on April 19, Samsung Electronics will adjust its NAND production capacities in the second
Taiwanese market research firm TrendForce said on April 17 that TSMC is likely to be most affected by the U.S. CHIPS Act. According to the act, semiconductor companies subsidized by the U.S. government cannot invest in China for 10 years. TrendForce said that TSMC’s facility expansion in China would
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at hwdoh@nhqv.com -- Ed.With the memory industry recovering, investment at Wonik IPS customers should pick up from 2024. However, the recent 3D NAND development trend towards feature scaling, rather than increase to the number
Taiwanese market research firm TrendForce said in its report that South Korea’s production share in the global DRAM market is expected to rise from 64 percent to 65 percent from this year to 2025. “According to the U.S. CHIPS Act, semiconductor manufacturers subsidized by the U.S. government cannot
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at hwdoh@nhqv.com -- Ed.Given improving memory supply-demand conditions, memory makers are to resume capacity investment from 2H23. TES is also to benefit from inclusion of foundry equipment in its memory-oriented equipment po
DRAM and NAND flash spot prices are rebounding after Samsung Electronics’ recent production cut announcement. Still, an industrywide recovery is rather unlikely in the first half of this year.Market research firm DRAM eXchange announced on April 13 that the 16Gb DDR4 2666 DRAM spot price was US$3.24
An announcement of a cut in memory production by Samsung Electronics which had previously stuck to a policy of no artificial production cuts has widened its gaps with SK Hynix and Micron, both of which are Samsung Electronics’ competitors in the memory industry, industry analysts say. Samsung Electr
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at hwdoh@nhqv.com -- Ed.During its 1Q23 earnings release, SEC announced that it intends to cut memory output considerably, which will positively impact supply-demand conditions. We expect earnings to begin to rebound in earnes
The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on April 6 that the private and public sectors would invest at least 160 trillion won (US$121 billion) until 2027 in battery, semiconductor and display R&D.According to the government, the investment is divided into 156 trillion won (US$118 billion) from the
SK Hynix will raise funds by issuing exchangeable bonds (EBs) worth US$1.5 billion (approximately 1.974 trillion won) in the Singaporean market.SK Hynix announced on March 3 that it will issue EBs with a seven-year maturity and interest rates of 1.25 to 1.75 percent. The proceeds from the EB issuanc
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at hwdoh@nhqv.com -- Ed.SK Hynix’s earnings slump is expected to continue through 2Q23 due to deteriorating memory market conditions. From 3Q23, however, a rebound in memory supply/demand should begin in earnest, spurred by in
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at hwdoh@nhqv.com -- Ed.We expect SEC’s earnings to remain sluggish through 2Q23, amid slowing memory market conditions. Industry conditions should improve from 3Q23, however, led by supply reductions and increased demand for
The United States has included so-called guardrail provisions regarding subsidies under the CHIPS Act. Although limited investment in semiconductor facilities in China has been allowed, there are also concerns that foreign chipmakers’ semiconductor production and sales in China will soon reach their