China's YMTC Sets Sights on Overtaking Samsung, SK Hynix in NAND by 2027

YMTC Challenges Samsung and SK Hynix, Targets Top Spot in Global NAND Next Year

Goal Presented at IPO Planning Meeting

Plans to Raise $5 Billion for R&D

China's Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. is targeting a rise to the top of the global NAND flash market as early as next year, in a direct challenge to Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc.

The Financial Times reported on August 26 that YMTC recently laid out a plan at a meeting with investors and others tied to its initial public offering preparations to become the world's No. 1 NAND maker as early as the end of 2027. In a prospectus filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange last week, the company said it plans to raise 33 billion yuan, or about $5 billion, to upgrade production facilities and invest in research and development.

NAND flash is a form of non-volatile memory used mainly in smartphones and tablets. The FT said Chinese chipmakers are rapidly narrowing the technology gap in memory production, including in stacked architectures and process optimization.

YMTC ranked third among global NAND producers in the first quarter, behind Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, according to market researcher TrendForce. It was the largest Chinese company in the segment. TrendForce estimates the global NAND market, valued at $71 billion last year, will grow to more than $300 billion this year and reach $490 billion by 2030.

YMTC's sales have also been growing rapidly. Its IPO prospectus showed first-quarter revenue of 47 billion yuan, or about $7 billion, and net income of 33 billion yuan. Net income in the first quarter alone was more than double the company's full-year profit last year.

YMTC stepped up its IPO drive after another Chinese memory chipmaker, ChangXin Memory Technologies, made a successful stock market debut. CXMT, which mainly produces DRAM, raised $9 billion this year in Asia's largest listing. It is now valued at $580 billion, making it China's most valuable listed company. YMTC and CXMT are using Chinese government subsidies and the country's electronics supply chain to expand their shares of the NAND and DRAM markets, respectively.

Kim Ju-wan, Hankyung.com reporter kjwan@hankyung.com