SEOUL : Export restrictions being considered by Washington to halt China's advances in semiconductor manufacturing could come at a substantial cost, experts say, potentially disrupting fragile global chip supply chains - and hurting U.S. businesses.
"Samsung's China production alone accounts for more than 15 per cent of global NAND flash production ... If there's any production disruption, it will make chip prices surge," said Lee Min-hee, analyst at BNK Securities. "Many U.S. companies, like Apple, use Samsung and SK Hynix memory chips. No matter what strategy end up choosing, it will have global implications," said BNK Securities analyst Lee.
The U.S. crackdown, if approved, could also complicate SK Hynix's ambition to expand its presence in the NAND market where it is ranked third as of first quarter behind Samsung and Japan's Kioxia Holdings, which was spun out of Toshiba Corp.