SK hynix announced plans to invest approximately KRW 54.3 trillion to build 2 new plants, Yongin Y2 and Cheongju M17. The investment is aimed at strengthening DRAM and NAND production, with construction scheduled to begin next year and initial cleanroom operations targeted for 2029 and the end of 2028, respectively.
SK hynix announced plans to invest KRW 54.3 trillion (approximately TWD 1.2 trillion) to build 2 new plants, Yongin Y2 and Cheongju M17. About two-thirds of the investment will be allocated to expanding DRAM production capacity, with the plan centered on HBM and next-generation DRAM production.
Construction of the Yongin Y2 plant is scheduled to begin next July, with initial cleanroom operations targeted for June 2029. Construction of the Cheongju M17 plant will begin next February, with its first cleanroom expected to start operations at the end of 2028. The overall investment period is expected to continue through April 2031.
The announcement unsettled the market in the short term. SK hynix's ADR fell 6.2%, the Korean market declined by approximately 4.9%, and Micron also fell temporarily. Analysts said that while the scale of the capital investment is substantial, it will take several years from construction to the start of production, so it will not directly resolve the short-term oversupply.
UBS released a bullish forecast for memory prices, projecting gains of more than 200% this year and approximately 89% in 2027. Market participants share the view that no new large-scale production capacity will come fully online over the next year and want to assess the relationship between demand growth and supply.