Samsung Xi'an Plant Resumes Operation Rate

  Samsung Electronics' wafer fabrication plant in Xi'an has seen its operational rate recover to around 70%. This facility is Samsung Electronics' only memory chip production plant outside of Korea and accounts for 40% of its total NAND output. 

Sources indicate that, in the second half of 2023, the plant's operational rate had once dropped to between 20% and 30%, marking the lowest point since the end of 2022 when memory chip prices and demand began to decline. 

The recent recovery in the operational rate is attributed to a surge in demand for smartphones in the Chinese market. Prices for NAND began to recover starting from October last year and have been rising each month ever since. With the increase in operational rate, Samsung Electronics is also ordering more NAND components from South Korean suppliers. Insiders reveal that Samsung has asked suppliers to raise their inventory levels to cope with the increase in orders. They mentioned that some suppliers, such as Dongjin Semichem and Soulbrain, have seen a significant increase in shipments of NAND components for Samsung.