Micron Technology announced a future investment of $4.3 billion to continue expansion in China!

Micron Technology, a U.S. semiconductor company, announced on June 16 that it plans to invest up to RMB 4.3 billion in a packaging and testing facility in Xi’an, mainland China, over the next few years. Micron Technology decided to acquire the packaging equipment of Lixing Semiconductor (Xi’an) Co., Ltd (Lixing Xi’an), and also plans to add a new factory in Micron’s Xi’an plant and introduce new and high-performance packaging and testing equipment.

Micron Technology said the investment will enhance the company’s flexibility to manufacture a wide portfolio of products in Xi’an and enable Micron to operate packaging and testing operations directly from the Xi’an facility. The new facility announced will incorporate new production lines for the manufacture of mobile DRAM, NAND and SSD products to enhance the existing packaging and testing capabilities of the Xi’an facility. Micron has reportedly been preparing for this project for some time and has already started the qualification process for manufacturing mobile DRAM in Xi’an.

Micron is the oldest U.S. memory chip manufacturing giant, with a 45-year history. Like most of its peers, Micron currently has two main products, one is the manufacture of DRAM chips for memory sticks, and the other is the manufacture of NAND flash memory chips for hard drivesAccording to CFM flash memory market data, Micron’s share of the global DRAM market was 23.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, ranking third, and its share of the global NAND Flash market was 10.5 percent, ranking fifth, making the company also one of the few U.S. storage manufacturers.

In fiscal 2022, Micron’s revenue in mainland China (excluding Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) will be $3.311 billion (about RMB 23.256 billion), accounting for 10.76 percent of total revenue; if the figures for Hong Kong and Taiwan are added, the share will rise to 36.29 percent, but still less than that of the United States, Micron’s top market with a 52.10 percent share. However, the impact of the Chinese market on Micron should not be underestimated.