Chinese Chipmaker YMTC Plans to Double Production Capacity

China’s leading memory chip manufacturer, Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC), is planning to build two new factories to significantly expand its production capabilities. This move, which includes a third facility currently nearing completion, is expected to more than double the company's total output as it seeks to reduce reliance on foreign technology amid heightened trade tensions with the United States. According to reports by Reuters, the plans for the two new plants and details regarding the nearly completed factory are being disclosed for the first time. The three new plants are each designed to produce 100,000 wafers per month when they become fully operational. YMTC, which is currently unlisted and serves as the largest NAND flash memory maker in the country, already operates two fabrication plants with a combined monthly capacity of 200,000 wafers. The third factory, located in Wuhan like the existing sites, is scheduled to begin operations late this year with a goal of reaching 50,000 wafers per month by 2027. Construction on the third facility is complete, and the company is currently installing equipment. Sources indicate that more than 50% of this machinery has been obtained from domestic suppliers, including critical tools for vertical layer stacking. This push for local sourcing follows the decision by the U.S. Commerce Department to add YMTC to its Entity List in December 2022, which restricted its access to international chipmaking tools. Despite these constraints, YMTC has made rapid technological gains. Analysts suggest its latest Xtacking 4.0 architecture is now competitive with products from industry leaders such as SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD. While the majority of its sales remain domestic, YMTC captured 11.8% of the global NAND flash market last year, according to UBS. This market share puts it on a level similar to SANDISK CORP and close to other major competitors like SK HYNIX INC at 16%, Kioxia at 15.9%, and MICRON TECHNOLOGY INC at 13.3%. UBS predicts that YMTC's market share will exceed 14% by early 2027. Furthermore, YMTC is expanding its reach into the DRAM market, which produces memory chips for temporary data processing. All three of the new plants are expected to dedicate a portion of their capacity to DRAM production. The company has already sent samples of low-power DRAM to clients and expects to receive feedback by the end of the year to determine final production volumes.