SK Hynix Shares Surge on Report of Potential US Chip Production with Intel

Shares of SK Hynix Inc. (KS:000660) surged on Wednesday following a report that the memory chip giant is in early-stage talks with Intel Corp. about producing chips in the United States for the first time. The news sent the company's stock up nearly 4.0% to close at ₩1,757,000.

Potential US Manufacturing Partnership

According to a report from Reuters, SK Hynix is exploring a potential manufacturing arrangement at Intel's planned fabrication facility in Ohio. The preliminary discussions are said to involve two possible structures:

• Leasing a portion of the Intel facility.
• Forming a joint venture that could also include major cloud computing companies.

The report noted that no final decision has been made, including which specific types of memory chips would be produced under such a deal.

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Market Impact and Company Response

A potential U.S. production base is significant for SK Hynix, the world's leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM). This specialized memory is a critical component in the AI accelerator chips fueling intense global demand, and a U.S. presence could help secure key customers.

In response to the report, an SK Hynix spokesperson told Investing.com that the company was reviewing "various measures, including establishing additional production bases." However, the spokesperson clarified that it had "not made any clear decision on the matter so far."

The rally also comes as investors engaged in some bargain buying in the chip sector, which had recently seen losses amid concerns over a potential slowdown in AI-related development. The broader South Korean market also saw gains, with the KOSPI index rising 1.4% on Wednesday.