SK Hynix to begin U.S. stock trading as chipmakers weigh competing investment demands

Samsung and SK Hynix plan $523.7 billion South Korea chip cluster

SK Hynix is set to begin trading American depositary receipts on the Nasdaq on July 10 in a move that will give the memory chipmaker direct access to U.S. public markets. The listing comes as Seoul’s two largest semiconductor firms navigate cross-currents in investment strategy.

In a securities filing, SK Hynix listed U.S. tariffs and trade restrictions as a business risk. “If major countries, including the United States, impose or strengthen trade restrictions such as tariffs on imports, including semiconductors, our business performance could deteriorate,” the company said.

The two companies last week announced plans to build a semiconductor cluster in South Korea’s southwest, backed by the government as part of a broader effort to strengthen the country’s position in artificial intelligence chips and advanced memory. The project is expected to include four new fabrication plants — two each from Samsung and SK Hynix — with a combined investment of roughly 800 trillion won, or $523.7 billion.

Some experts questioned the commercial viability of the plans. “I strongly suspect that the investment decisions were influenced by the incumbent administration, which has relied heavily on support from the country’s southwestern region,” economic commentator Kim Kyeong-joon, formerly vice chairman at Deloitte Consulting Korea, told UPI.

Both companies already have major U.S. projects underway. Samsung is building semiconductor facilities in Taylor, Texas, with U.S. investment plans exceeding $37 billion through 2030. The Taylor site is expected to include advanced foundry production. The company said in April it was conducting an initial review of a second Taylor fabrication plant while holding discussions with global customers.

SK Hynix is investing $3.87 billion in West Lafayette, Indiana, to build an advanced packaging and research facility for AI memory. The Indiana plant is expected to support high-bandwidth memory products used in AI accelerators.

Both companies are heavily exposed to the U.S. market. Samsung’s Americas sales accounted for 32.5% of first-quarter revenue, while SK Hynix’s Americas sales accounted for 68.8%, according to their quarterly reports.

The domestic investment push comes alongside U.S. trade pressure that has prompted broader Korean commitments. The Trump administration has imposed reciprocal tariffs and other import-related charges since 2025, and Trump has previously threatened tariffs of up to 100% on memory chipmakers that do not build factories in the United States. South Korea’s lawmakers in March passed a law to manage a $350 billion U.S. investment pledge aimed at avoiding the highest tariffs, as MSI previously reported. The United States currently imposes a 50% Section 232 tariff on most steel and aluminum imports and on covered derivative products.

Industry officials said the more realistic option for Samsung and SK Hynix may be to accelerate existing U.S. projects rather than announce entirely new plans, given the scale of their commitments in South Korea. SK Hynix may face closer scrutiny because its U.S. investment is smaller than Samsung’s and because it is entering U.S. public markets.

Brokerage estimates cited by local media project Samsung’s second-quarter operating profit at about 85 trillion won, or $55.6 billion. SK Hynix’s second-quarter operating profit is projected at about 65 trillion won, or $42.6 billion. Kevin Warsh, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, recently compared the AI boom to the first or second inning of a baseball game, saying the technology shift represents a major paradigm change for economic policy and the wider economy.

For Samsung and SK Hynix, the challenge is how to satisfy U.S. expectations for local production while also carrying out South Korea’s largest semiconductor investment push.