Korean Media: China's Self-Sufficiency in HBM is Accelerating, Will Samsung and SK's Market Share Be Threatened?

On November 3, the Korean media outlet "Herald Economic" published an article stating that as Chinese semiconductor companies race to enter the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market, the global market structure currently dominated by Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron is changing. Additionally, some believe that if Chinese companies use domestic HBM, Korean companies will inevitably lose market share and exports.

According to industry insiders, China's leading tech company Huawei plans to increase the production of its AI chip Ascend 910C from 300,000 units this year to 600,000 units next year. The company also plans to significantly increase the chip output of all Ascend product lines, from 1 million units this year to a maximum of 1.6 million units.

Huawei has declared its independent R&D capabilities by integrating its self-developed HBM products into its AI chips. The company plans to integrate its self-developed HBM product "HiBL 1.0" into its AI semiconductor chip "Ascend 950PR," which is scheduled for release in the first quarter of next year. Huawei stated that HiBL 1.0 has a bandwidth of up to 1.6 TB/s and a capacity of 128 GB. This number exceeds the 1.2 TB/s bandwidth of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix's 12-layer fifth-generation HBM3E.

China's largest memory semiconductor company, Yangtze Memory Technologies, has also expressed intent to enter the DRAM manufacturing sector, including HBM. Industry insiders interpret this as a move by China to accelerate the development of advanced semiconductor manufacturing capabilities following the U.S. expansion of HBM export controls on China last December.

This has raised concerns about the decline in market share of South Korean local enterprises. According to data from market research company Counterpoint Research, in the second quarter of this year, SK Hynix held 62% of the HBM market by shipment volume, followed by Micron Technology (21%) and Samsung Electronics (17%).

Industry insiders believe that China is likely targeting domestic HBM demand. However, if Chinese companies start using their own HBM, their purchases from Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix may decrease, potentially leading to a reduction in South Korean companies' HBM supply.

Initially, Chinese companies such as Huawei and Baidu preemptively stockpiled Samsung Electronics' HBM due to expectations that the U.S. would restrict semiconductor exports to China. According to foreign media estimates, as of August last year, approximately 30% of Samsung Electronics' HBM sales came from China.

Professor Lee Jong-hwan from the Department of System Semiconductor at Sangmyung University said, "Although Chinese companies still have a one- to two-year technological gap compared to Korean companies in HBM technology, they are clearly concerning as potential competitors. In recent years, the general memory market has experienced rapid growth, but the high-profit products are HBM and other high-value-added products. Therefore, if Korean companies fall behind China in this field, they will face difficulties. Hence, they must continue to develop technology and ensure talent reserves."

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1847732348914698/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author."