US officials have yet to approve export licenses for American chipmaking tools for SK hynix’s Dalian plant in China, complicating the South Korean memory chipmaker’s proposed NAND plants in New York, sources said.

SK hynix said higher production in Dalian would help fund the New York investment. The US Commerce Department opposes technology upgrades or capacity expansion in China, but it has not formally denied the license request.

SK hynix acquired the Dalian plant through its purchase of Intel’s NAND business.

Earlier US controls allowed equipment shipments under waivers. Those were replaced last year by annual licenses.

Sources said Solidigm, SK hynix’s US storage-chip unit based in Rancho Cordova, California, plans two NAND plants in Marcy, New York, with investment of about US$45 billion that could eventually reach about US$100 billion.

Solidigm said last week it was exploring sites globally and had made no decision.

Sources said the Treasury Department would also need to waive outbound investment restrictions for SK hynix to buy equipment for China.

🔗 Source: Reuters

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