Samsung, SK Hynix Upgrade China NAND Plants

Samsung Electronics is converting its factory in Xian, which makes about 40% of its NAND flash memory worldwide, to produce 286-layer chips, part of a project known internally as “Monami”, according to people familiar with the plans who spoke to Reuters. SK Hynix is doing something similar at its plant in Dalian.

Both South Korean companies confirmed to Reuters that upgrades were under way and were being carried out “in close consultation with Washington”. What neither would discuss is how far they go. Four people familiar with the plans described aims to bring the two Chinese sites up to more than 200 layers, in line with what the companies make at home. That would mark a turn for factories that have been held back since the US began restricting shipments of chipmaking equipment to China in 2022.

Samsung’s plan targets 40,000 wafers a month

NAND is the memory that keeps data without power, used in phones, PCs and the solid-state drives that fill AI data centres. More layers means more storage in the same space and lower cost per bit.

Xian currently makes chips with about 200 layers, two of the people said. Under Monami, French for “my friend”, Samsung is moving the plant to its 286-layer V9 NAND, aiming for output of 5,000 wafers a month in December and 40,000 wafers a month by December 2027, one person said.

Samsung said the upgrade complied with US export rules. “The upgrade is aimed at meeting growing demand from global customers, including those in the US. The company is not expanding production capacity or constructing new manufacturing facilities,” it said.

At Dalian, a site SK Hynix acquired with Intel’s NAND business in 2021 and now the only factory of that business, Solidigm, SK Hynix wants to move to 240 layers or more, three people said. It now makes 192-layer chips there, one said. That person also said SK Hynix is authorised to make chips with up to 240 layers at Dalian and may ask Washington for permission to research 300-plus-layer chips there, groundwork for possible production in the US. Last week Reuters reported that Solidigm is tying a new US NAND plant to a licence for more equipment at Dalian.

The licence picture is unclear

Both companies must apply for US licences every year to install American-made tools, such as etching machines, in their Chinese plants. Reuters could not determine to what extent US authorities had granted the export licences needed for these upgrades. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security did not directly answer Reuters’ questions, instead pointing to its 2025 statement that it intended to approve licences for running the existing factories, but not for expanding capacity or upgrading technology.

The pressure to upgrade comes from a local rival. Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) took 38.5% of China’s NAND market in the second quarter, up from 28% for 2025 as a whole, overtaking Samsung, according to research firm Omdia, as cited by Reuters. Samsung’s share fell to 33.5% from 36%, and SK Hynix’s to 17% from 20%. YMTC mostly makes 160- and 232-layer chips but also produces a small number of 294-layer parts, two other people said. It did not respond to Reuters. Chinese competition is already weighing on the Korean firms in DRAM too, where a claim from CXMT knocked their shares this month.

Outside China, Samsung already sells NAND with up to 286 layers and showed a prototype of more than 400 layers in August; SK Hynix sells chips with up to 321 layers. Even after the upgrades, the Chinese plants would probably still trail the companies’ best parts.

Washington’s last public word, which the Commerce Department pointed Reuters back to, is that it did not intend to license technology upgrades at these factories. Both companies now confirm upgrades are under way. Neither they nor the bureau has said whether that position has changed.