{
  "id": 16570201,
  "title": "South Korea urged to guard chip profitability as China’s CXMT and YMTC gain market share",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/26/south-korea-urged-to-guard-chip-profitability-as-chinas-cxmt-and-ymtc",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-26T07:00:09.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3372138/south-korea-urged-guard-chip-profitability-chinas-cxmt-and-ymtc-gain-market-share"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "South Korea finds itself on high alert as China's semiconductor sector surges, prompting a fresh advisory from Samil PwC. The firm warns local chipmakers against losing profitability in the face of mounting Chinese competition. The report highlights the imminent intensification of competition in mainstream memory, mature-node manufacturing, and packaging and testing segments. To maintain their edge, Samil PwC urges South Korean semiconductor firms to boost their cost-competitiveness in commodity memory while investing heavily in high-tech areas like advanced packaging and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which are frequently combined with AI processors in a layered arrangement. This caution echoes remarks made by SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won, who expressed concern that Chinese rivals ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC) are rapidly closing the gap. Chey warns that South Korea risks losing market share if these companies or US rival Micron Technology expand production capabilities at a faster pace. Despite years of technology restrictions, CXMT and YMTC have continued to advance, even as they maintain a lag in advanced sectors where customer validation and stable mass production present hurdles. In response to this growing pressure, South Korea's leading semiconductor manufacturers are taking steps to solidify their position. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are upgrading their manufacturing facilities in China to increase production of advanced NAND flash memory, aimed at countering YMTC and meeting the growing demand for AI-driven storage solutions. These upgrades are being carried out in coordination with Washington. Simultaneously, Chinese memory specialists are pushing the technological envelope. CXMT, the leading producer of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) in China, has announced plans to launch server memory using an advanced 4F² architecture by the end of the year. This dense design, which packs memory cells closer together to increase memory capacity, is also under development by Samsung and SK Hynix. Chinese memory manufacturers are currently converting these technological advancements into commercial success, already claiming 10 percent of global DRAM revenue in the second quarter, compared to 4 percent a year earlier. CXMT has surged to become the world's fourth-largest DRAM supplier, behind Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron Technology. In flash storage, YMTC has risen to third place globally by NAND shipment volume in the second quarter, behind Samsung and SK Hynix, including its US-based Solidigm subsidiary. The company's server-related revenue is projected to reach 39 percent of its total sales by 2028, up from nearly zero in 2024, driven by its expansion into storage for AI data centers. However, expanding its presence beyond China will be a critical challenge for YMTC in its quest to challenge Samsung on the global stage.",
  "summary": "China’s expanding semiconductor industry is fuelling mounting anxiety in South Korea, where a new consultancy report has warned local chipmakers to defend profitability as Chinese rivals scale up production and strengthen market share. Samil PwC, the South Korean member firm of the global consultancy, said in a report made public on Monday that Chinese competition would likely heat up first in…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Investing.com",
        "title": "North Korea’s Kim Jong Un makes surprise China visit as ties strengthen",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/25/north-koreas-kim-jong-un-makes-surprise-china-visit-as-ties-strengthen",
        "published": "2026-10-25T08:17:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}