SK Hynix announces wafer capacity expansion and shares rebound
SK Hynix Inc (ticker KS:000660) saw its share price recover from an intra‑session low of about 3.5% down to a gain of 2.6%, closing at 21 million won. The rebound contributed to the KOSPI index recouping part of its earlier losses, although the index remained in negative territory.
Chairman Chey Tae‑won told Nikkei Asia that the company will triple its wafer production capacity by 2034 to satisfy rapidly growing demand for advanced memory chips that are essential for artificial‑intelligence (AI) applications. This capacity increase is positioned as a response to the AI‑driven surge in memory chip demand that has tightened markets and driven prices higher over the past year.
The article notes that SK Hynix’s market valuation exceeded $1 trillion in the previous month, reflecting the strong AI‑related demand. However, the stock experienced an 11% decline in the prior week as investors took profits and as concerns about rising global interest rates weighed on technology shares.
In contrast, rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (ticker KS:005930) fell more than 1% during the same session.
The report highlights that the wafer‑capacity expansion plan is a long‑term capital‑intensive initiative aimed at maintaining SK Hynix’s position among the world’s largest memory‑chip producers.