SK Hynix's Dalian NAND Factory in China Also Freed from US Sanctions for One Year

Intel States via Twitter "NAND Business in Dalian, China Can Operate for One Year"
Includes Grace Period for SK Hynix's Dalian Factory Operated by Intel
All SK Hynix Factories in China Exempt from US Sanctions for One Year

Partial view of SK Hynix headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi-do [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Pyeonghwa] SK Hynix's Dalian plant in China, acquired from Intel, will be exempt from U.S. semiconductor equipment export regulations for one year. As a result, all semiconductor plants operated by SK Hynix in China will be free from U.S. regulations for one year.

On the 12th (local time), Intel announced on its official Twitter account that "on the 11th, it received approval from the U.S. Department of Commerce to continue its NAND business in Dalian, China, for one year." The U.S. had banned semiconductor equipment exports to China on the 7th, but this exemption allows the business to operate for one year despite the regulation.

The SK Hynix NAND plant operated by Intel will also be subject to the same exemption. Previously, in October 2020, Intel sold its NAND business unit in Dalian, China, to SK Hynix. SK Hynix received approval for the acquisition of Intel's NAND business unit in China last December and completed the first phase of the acquisition. The first payment was $7 billion, acquiring the solid-state drive (SSD) business and the Dalian NAND plant assets. The second payment of $2 billion is scheduled for around March 2025. Currently, Intel is operating the plant, and once all acquisitions are complete, SK Hynix will take over the Dalian plant's workforce and all assets.

With this, SK Hynix will be exempt from U.S. regulations for one year at all semiconductor plants it operates in China. Earlier, SK Hynix announced on the 11th that it had been notified by the U.S. Department of Commerce of a policy allowing the supply of equipment necessary for semiconductor production facilities in China for one year without separate approval. Besides the Dalian NAND plant, SK Hynix also operates DRAM and packaging plants in Wuxi and Chongqing, China, respectively.

An SK Hynix official commented on the regulatory relief, saying, "We have cooperated amicably with the U.S. to continue semiconductor product manufacturing in China," and added, "Going forward, we will continue to work closely with our government and the U.S. Department of Commerce to operate our Chinese plants within the scope of international order compliance."

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced on the 7th that it would control exports to China of equipment related to DRAM below 18 nanometers (nm, one billionth of a meter), NAND flash with 128 layers or more, and logic semiconductors below 14 nm. In this process, multinational companies with semiconductor plants in China, such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, were allowed to receive equipment through individual permits. The Korean government and related companies reportedly expressed concerns to the U.S. government that such measures could lead to a global semiconductor supply shortage.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.