Seoul Chipmaker Feels the Pinch as AI Spending Doubts and Chinese Rivalry Bite
Published on 10/20/2026 at 15:01 | Editorial boerse-global.de
SK Hynix shareholders endured another bruising session in Seoul, with the memory maker's stock sliding as a broad selloff in Korean semiconductor names gathered pace. The retreat came as investors questioned whether the torrent of capital pouring into artificial intelligence infrastructure can keep generating the returns that have powered the sector's rally.
The scale of the pullback depends on where you draw the line. One reading put the decline at 4.2% to 1,223,000.00 KRW, while a later snapshot showed a 4.9% drop to 1,214,000.00 KRW. Either way, the direction was unmistakable, and the pressure has been building for days: over the past seven sessions the stock has shed 16% of its value.
Foreign and institutional investors did much of the selling, according to media reports, and they were not alone. The benchmark Kospi index fell 2.8% in early trading, as AP reported, dragging chip heavyweights down with it.
A Sector Weighing Its AI Bet
At the heart of the caution is a simple question that markets have been circling for weeks: are the enormous sums being committed to AI infrastructure going to pay off? Add a persistently high interest rate environment and the picture darkens further. Rising competition from China has done little to lift the mood, with memory manufacturer CXMT drawing particular attention for its progress on advanced 4F² DRAM.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying SK Hynix?
Regulatory noise has compounded the sector-wide gloom. Lee Chan-jin, governor of South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), voiced concerns about a possible US listing of SK Hynix's NAND subsidiary Solidigm, flagging potential conflicts with the rules governing dual listings of parent and subsidiary companies. The regulator's position and its next steps remain unresolved, and investors fear such a move could dilute the value of the parent company, according to media reports.
SK Hynix has stressed that no concrete decision has been made on any such financing plan and that all options are being weighed with the interests of existing shareholders in mind.
Musk Adds His Voice to the Chorus
Public criticism from an unexpected quarter has added to the unease. Tesla chief Elon Musk took aim at memory chip producers over their pricing during ongoing supply shortages, though he stopped short of naming individual suppliers.
Despite the market pressure, SK Hynix is pressing ahead with its product roadmap. On October 16, at the OCP Global Summit, the company unveiled new solutions for server and AI environments, including the second generation of its 256GB CMM-DDR5 memory built on the CXL-3.2 standard. According to the company, the module delivers 80GB/s of bandwidth and runs roughly 30% more energy-efficiently than its predecessor.
Building a Buffer at Home
While the share price has wobbled, SK Hynix is shoring up its domestic supply chain. Together with the South Korean government and four major banks, the company on the previous day established a credit guarantee program worth up to 2 trillion Won for semiconductor industry suppliers. SK Hynix and the participating financial institutions are contributing a total of 100 billion Won, with K-SURE providing the guarantees.
Investors will get their clearest read on the operating picture next week. The company has scheduled its third-quarter 2026 earnings call for October 28, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. Seoul time.
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