Winners and Losers From US Chip Restrictions On China

The U.S. weighed restricting access of American chipmaking equipment to memory chip makers in China, including Yangtze Memory Technologies Co Ltd, Reuters reports.

The crackdown would involve barring the shipment of U.S. chipmaking equipment to factories in China that manufacture advanced NAND chips.

Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd (OTC: SSNLF) and SK Hynix Inc (OTC: HXSCL) could also face heat due to the move. 

Samsung has two big factories in China, while SK Hynix is buying Intel Corp's (NASDAQ: INTC) NAND flash memory chips manufacturing business in China.

The move would also seek to protect the only U.S. memory chip producers, Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ: WDC) and Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ: MU), which together represent 25% of the NAND chips market.

YMTC's expansion and low-price offerings present "a direct threat" to Micron and Western Digital, as per a June 2021 report.

The U.S. also looks to prohibit the export of tools to China used to make NAND chips with more than 128 layers. LAM Research Corp (NASDAQ: LRCX) and Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) were the primary suppliers of such tools.

YMTC, already under investigation for possible violation of U.S. export controls, and is in talks with Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) to supply flash memory chips.

The U.S. also imposed restrictions on other Chinese chipmakers and convinced allies to restrict chipmaking ties with China apart from approving its Chips Act to strengthen its chipmaking position.

Price Action: MU shares traded higher by 1.29% at $62.66 on the last check Monday.