SK Hynix earmarks $91 bn to construct world's largest chip fab

The plants' four units will be built in Korea by 2046; the government will support infrastructure for chip production

SK Hynix's Yongin Semiconductor Cluster in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea (Courtesy of SK)
SK Hynix's Yongin Semiconductor Cluster in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea (Courtesy of SK)
Sul-Gi Lee 1
2024-03-21 16:35:40 surugi@hankyung.com
Korean chipmakers


SK Hynix Inc., the global No. 2 memory chipmaker, is slated to invest more than 120 trillion won ($90.7 billion) by 2046 to build the world’s largest chip production facilities at its Yongin Semiconductor Cluster, Gyeonggi Province in South Korea.

The company said on Thursday it will start construction on the first of the four units in the facilities next March. The first unit will be the world’s biggest three-story fabrication plant, SK Hynix added.

The site for the first unit is about 35% complete, according to the company. Its development had been delayed due to licensing procedures since the plan was first announced in 2019; the project regained traction in 2022 through an agreement between the government, municipalities and companies, SK Hynix said.

Trade Minister Ahn Deokgeun visited the site on Thursday. He pledged the government will support Korea’s chip industry to build the relevant infrastructure, secure unparalleled technologies, expand exports and strengthen a healthy ecosystem for key sectors – materials, components and equipment as well as chip design and sales.   
 
Last month, the trade ministry launched a task force to focus on electricity supply to SK Hynix's semiconductor cluster.

The authorities this month will announce a comprehensive support plan for the country's seven complexes specialized in advanced and strategic industries, including the semiconductor cluster.

By the end of June, the government will unveil its strategies to accelerate artificial intelligence chip exports and strengthen semiconductor equipment.

“All ministries will work together to ensure that Korean companies won’t lag behind global players in semiconductor manufacturing speed. We will actively support high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips to achieve more than $120 billion in semiconductor exports this year,” said the trade minister.

Write to Sul-Gi Lee at surugi@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.

Samsung to unveil Mach-1 AI chip to upend SK Hynix’s HBM leadership

Samsung to unveil Mach-1 AI chip to upend SK Hynix’s HBM leadership

Samsung Electronics unveils its chip business strategy at its annual general meeting on March 20, 2024 Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s top memory chipmaker, is developing a next-generation artificial intelligence chip, Mach-1, with which the South Korean tech giant aims to upend its

SK Hynix mass-produces HBM3E chip to supply Nvidia

SK Hynix mass-produces HBM3E chip to supply Nvidia

(Courtesy of SK Hynix) SK Hynix Inc., the world’s No. 2 memory chipmaker, began mass-producing HBM3E, the best-performing DRAM chip for AI applications, for the first time in the industry to supply Nvidia Corp., the leading global semiconductor designer. SK Hynix said on Tuesday it p

SK Hynix explores HBM chip collaboration with Kioxia

SK Hynix explores HBM chip collaboration with Kioxia

SK Hynix's HBM3 memory chips SK Hynix Inc. is exploring collaboration with Japanese chipmaker Kioxia Holdings Corp. to produce high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, which have been enjoying soaring demand for artificial intelligence applications, according to foreign media reports.The South Korean

SK Hynix to build US chip packaging plant in Indiana: FT

SK Hynix to build US chip packaging plant in Indiana: FT

SK Hynix Inc., the world’s second-largest memory chip producer, is reported to have picked Indiana as the site for its advanced chip packaging plant in the US, according to the Financial Times on Thursday.SK Hynix Chief Executive Chey Tae-won vowed to invest $22 billion to build chip pac

(* comment hide *}