China’s top flash memory maker YMTC creates US$3 billion chip venture

Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC), China’s top flash memory maker, has established a US$3 billion venture in its home city of Wuhan, capital of central Hubei province, as the company doubles down on next-generation NAND chips.

The new venture, led by YMTC chairman Chen Nanxiang, was incorporated last week with a registered capital of 20.7 billion yuan (US$2.9 billion), according to information from Chinese corporate data provider Qichacha. YMTC held a 50.2 per cent stake in the venture, while state-run Hubei Changsheng Phase III Investment Development Co owned the rest, according to the public corporate data.

The new venture would cover the entire supply chain from design and manufacturing to sales of integrated circuits. However, the disclosure did not provide details on which products it would make.

The project comes as the global memory chip market faces dramatic changes as Chinese giants such as YMTC and ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) challenge existing players like South Korean giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, and US memory chip leader Micron Technology.

YMTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

The company is known for its design and fabrication of 3D NAND, a flash memory in which transistor dies are stacked vertically to increase storage density without causing overheating.