SK Hynix Stock Falls 11% as Firm Seeks US Approval for China Equipment

TLDR

• SK Hynix stock fell 11% on Thursday to 1,262,000 won, down 157,000 won.
• The company wants U.S. approval to ship more chip equipment to its Dalian plant in China.
• The request is tied to plans by its unit Solidigm to build a NAND factory in the U.S.
• Solidigm is weighing an IPO as early as 2027 to help fund the project.
• Washington has revoked exemptions that let SK Hynix and Samsung ship U.S. tools to China without licenses.

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SK Hynix (000660) stock fell about 11% on Thursday to close at 1,262,000 won. That was a drop of 157,000 won. The move came during a broader sell-off in tech stocks.

SK hynix Inc., SKHY

The company is asking the U.S. government for approval to ship more American-made chip equipment to its Dalian facility in China. Reuters reported the request on Thursday. The equipment would go into an unused section of the plant known as Mod B.

SK Hynix says the work is being done in close consultation with Washington and with its authorization. The company also told Reuters it is not trying to expand the plant’s capacity. Mod B was finished in 2023 but never fully equipped.

The equipment installation stalled after a downturn in the memory market. Since then, the market has flipped. A global shortage of memory chips has pushed prices up sharply this year.

The extra output would be NAND flash memory. That chip type is used in solid-state drives. Those drives sit in data centers that run AI and cloud computing.

Why the Request Is Tied to a U.S. Plant

Solidigm, the U.S. unit of SK Hynix, is the one seeking the export license. It is linking the request to its plan for a new NAND factory in the United States. Reuters reported last month that Solidigm was weighing such a plant.

A source told Reuters the added output in China would help Solidigm pay for the U.S. project. It could also act as a bridge to higher production at home. Building a chip plant can cost billions of dollars and take years.

Solidigm is also looking at an IPO as early as next year. The listing would be another way to raise money for the build. No final decisions have been announced.

The Dalian site uses tools from U.S. suppliers. These include Lam Research, Applied Materials and KLA. Those stocks also fell on Thursday, with Lam down about 5%, Applied Materials down about 4% and KLA down about 3%.

Export Rules in the Background

Washington is pushing foreign chipmakers to build more capacity in the U.S. At the same time, it limits equipment exports to China. The goal is to slow Beijing’s progress on advanced chips for AI and military use.

The Commerce Department has revoked exemptions that let SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics receive U.S. tools at their Chinese plants without separate licenses. Those firms now need individual approvals. That is why Solidigm is asking for a license.

The U.S.-listed SKHY fell about 6% on Thursday. Since its July 2026 IPO, the stock is down about 12%. On TipRanks, it carries a Strong Buy rating from 11 analysts.

The average price target is $254.70. That implies about 73% upside from current levels. The U.S. government has not yet said whether it will grant the license.