SK Group chairman says wafer shortage to last until 2030, trying to stabilise memory prices

SK Group chairman says wafer shortage to last until 2030, trying to stabilise memory prices

• SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won expected chip wafer shortage to last until 2030
• Chey points to new strategy for stabilising DRAM prices
• SK Hynix looks into U.S. ADR listing to broaden its global presence

SAN JOSE, California, March 16 (Reuters) – South Korea’s SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said on Monday the global chip wafer shortage is likely to persist until 2030, as demand driven by artificial intelligence continues to outpace supply.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Nvidia’s (NVDA.O), GTC Conference ​in San Jose, California, Chey said that SK Hynix (000660.KS), is reviewing a potential U.S. ADR ​listing to broaden its global investor base, while its CEO may unveil plans ⁠to stabilise DRAM chip prices and the group explores alternative energy sources.

a 57% share and holds a 32% ​share of the global DRAM market, making it the second-largest player, according to Counterpoint.

Chey, explaining the ​shortage of wafers, said:

AI actually wants to have a lot of HBM, and once you make the HBM…we have to use a lot of wafers,

“So we need some time to build up more wafers, at least four to ​five years. The current shortage could continue until 2030, so we expect more than a 20% shortage of the ‌wafers,” Chey ⁠said.

He said that SK Hynix would try to come up with a strategy to stabilise DRAM prices.

Chey said,

So I cannot just announce right here, but I guess that our CEO is going to announce a new plan for how to stabilise the price of the DRAM,

When asked about expanding chip ​manufacturing capacity in the ​United States, where many ⁠of SK Hynix’s customers are based, Chey said establishing overseas plants required adequate power, water, construction conditions and engineering talent. Accordingly, he said this could ​not be done easily on demand, adding that the company was currently focusing ​on production ⁠in Korea.

On a potential U.S. ADR listing, Chey said the move could help expand SK Hynix’s shareholder base beyond Korea, increasing exposure to American and international investors and strengthening its global presence.

Chey also said tensions in ⁠the ​Middle East had created a lot of difficulties due to ​higher energy prices, pushing the group to seek other available energy sources.

Shares of SK Hynix were trading up 2.7% on Tuesday morning in Seoul, versus ​the benchmark KOSPI’s (.KS11), 2.4% rise.

Reporting by Heekyong Yang, Max A. Cherney, Stephen Nellis and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Ed Davies

READ the latest news shaping the AI Chips market at AI Chips News

SK Group chairman says wafer shortage to last until 2030, trying to stabilise memory prices, source