We have talked to you many times about the new US regulations concerning the export of advanced tools for the production of chips within the People's Republic of China. However, it appears that two other large non-Chinese companies, namely South Korean companies Samsung and SK Hynix, could suffer from the situation. latest state-of-the-art equipment and technologies, which make up a large part of the international supply of 3D NAND and DRAM memories. Given their importance, at the moment the companies have obtained a one-year waiver to continue upgrading their plants in China, but subsequently their suppliers, according to the new rules, will necessarily have to obtain a new export license from the Department of Commerce. of the United States to sell equipment to Chinese branches, or be able to have a different license for each agreement after a case-by-case review.
At the moment, a source close to Samsung could not say for sure what will happen next year. If this problem persists, it is possible that both Samsung and SK Hynix may decide to avoid continuing to invest in their Chinese plants and possibly move memory production to South Korea, Taiwan, Japan or the United States.