SKHY Listing Day: SK Group Chairman Says 'Yes' To Potentially Expanding Chip Making Investment In US — But He Has Conditions

• Tae-won added that if his team finds the right location in the U.S. to build these facilities, SK Hynix would proceed with the necessary investments.
• He expects SK Hynix to make “at least” tens of billions of dollars worth of investments on the AI side.
• Tae-won added that he is looking at larger investments in AI, data centers, related technologies, and startups.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won on Friday said “yes” to potentially expanding the company’s chip-making investment in the U.S. ahead of SK Hynix Inc.’s (SKHY) Nasdaq debut.

During an interview with CNBC, Tae-won said that his team is in the U.S. to study whether it is possible to meet the requirements for building memory fabrication facilities.

“It’s not easy to build memory fabs. We need the power, clean waters, land, and the workforce and the ecosystem for the supply chain,” he said.

Tae-won Says ‘We’ll Do It’ If SKHY Finds The Right Place In US

Tae-won added that if his team finds the right location in the U.S. to build these facilities, SK Hynix would proceed with the necessary investments. “I’m trying to find the right place, and if we find the right place in the U.S., then we’ll do it,” he added.

Tae-won said that he expects the company to make “at least” tens of billions of dollars in investments on the AI side, while adding that he is looking at larger investments in AI, data centers, related technologies, and startups.

“I’m expecting a huge investment sooner or later,” he said.

Tae-won Reiterates There Is A Memory Supply Crunch

Tae-won reiterated that there is a memory supply crunch right now and added that SK Hynix will tailor its pricing strategies based on customer requests.

“We actually try to focus on sustainability for our customers. Different customers want different sets of rules. Somebody wants to open up the price, somebody wants to secure the price,” he said, while adding that this also varies based on products.

He also downplayed concerns about rising competition in the high-bandwidth memory space, stating that there is an “enormous” shortage of chips due to soaring demand for AI use cases.

SKHY Raises $26.5B

SK Hynix Inc. (SKHY) priced its U.S. offering at $149 per American Depository Receipt, raising $26.5 billion in the process. “It’s a kind of dream, and now it’s a dream come true,” Tae-won said, speaking about the Nasdaq debut.

SK Hynix said it plans to use the proceeds from the offering to build new production facilities in South Korea and acquire extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography scanners, a critical technology used to manufacture advanced semiconductors.

The Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) is up 133% over the past 12 months, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) is up 134%.

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