SK Hynix CEO downplays US-China trade tension impact on Chinese plant

The CEO of South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix on Monday downplayed the impact of the US-China trade tensions to its fab in China.

SK Hynix CEO Lee Seok-hee said during a South Korean industry event hosted by Korea Semiconductor Industry Association (KSIA) that there was a long way to go until the company puts in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) equipment at its fab in China.

The company just started to apply EUV equipment to its fab in South Korea for 1A nanometer process node, Lee said, which means reports of the firm possibly facing problems in advancing its fab in China “was thinking too much ahead.”

Earlier, Reuters reported that the US government will likely block SK Hynix from placing EUV equipment into its DRAM fab in China to curve technology access of China.

Lee also stressed that its plan to buy EUV equipment for five years from Dutch firm ASML won’t face any difficulty.

SK Hynix was at the moment busy with applying EUV equipment at its fab in Icheon, South Korea, the CEO said.

He added that the company was actively collaborating with the Chinese government to secure approval to acquire Intel’s NAND business unit.

Meanwhile, at the event hosted by KSIA celebrating the association’s 30-year anniversary, various awards were given to those who contributed to the development of South Korea’s chip industry.

The top prize went to Samsung memory president Lee Jung-bae, for his contribution to the development and production of mobile and server DRAMs.