Prime Highlights
- YMTC plans two new chip plants to expand semiconductor production.
- Expansion will more than double YMTC’s manufacturing capacity.
Key Facts
- YMTC is China’s largest NAND flash memory chipmaker.
- Company holds 11.8% of the global NAND market.
Background
Chinese memory chipmaker YMTC plans to build two additional semiconductor factories alongside a third plant set to begin operations later this year, a move expected to more than double its production capacity as China pushes to strengthen domestic chip manufacturing.
Sources familiar with the matter said each of the three new plants will have the capacity to produce 100,000 wafers per month when fully operational. YMTC currently operates two factories with a combined capacity of 200,000 wafers per month.
The company’s third Wuhan-based facility is expected to begin operations later this year and reach 50,000 wafers per month by 2027. Sources said over half of the equipment installed at the plant has been sourced from domestic suppliers, including critical chipmaking tools.
YMTC has increased cooperation with Chinese equipment manufacturers such as Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment since being added to the US Commerce Department’s Entity List in late 2022.
The expansion comes as China intensifies efforts to reduce dependence on foreign semiconductor technologies amid tightening US export restrictions on advanced chipmaking equipment.
Founded in 2016, YMTC has emerged as China’s largest NAND flash memory chipmaker and now holds 11.8 percent of the global NAND flash market, according to UBS. Analysts expect its market share to surpass 14 percent by early 2027.
Among the recent developments, the company is also venturing into DRAM memory chips, with expected DRAM production support from the new factory, subject to the development agenda on that.
YMTC has apparently provided samples of its low-power DRAM to clients and is expecting feedback later this year.
