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Exclusive | Tech war: China’s top memory chip maker YMTC slashes equipment orders amid US sanctions, market headwinds

  • YMTC has slashed up to 70 per cent of its orders from Naura Technology, a Chinese maker of production tools for wafer fabs, according to a source
  • The cancelled orders come amid tighter US export restrictions on China’s chip industry, as well as a slowdown in the global memory market

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The YMTC logo is seen on a smartphone in front of the company’s website. Photo: Shutterstock Images
Che Panin Beijing

China’s top memory chip maker Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp (YMTC) has significantly cut orders for production equipment in recent months, according to an industry source, a sign that its expansion plans have been dealt a major blow by Washington’s efforts to deny Chinese access to advanced chip-making technologies.

Based in Wuhan, capital of central Hubei province, YMTC has slashed up to 70 per cent of its orders from Naura Technology Group, a leading Chinese maker of etching, cleaning and chemical vapour deposition tools for wafer fabs, according to a source familiar with the matter, who declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak with media.

The orders were cancelled over the past four months, which aligns with the October 7 decision by the Biden administration to dramatically tighten export controls on advanced chip making equipment to China.

“YMTC could be reducing procurement from its suppliers because it faces huge uncertainty in production and sales of its own products [due to US sanctions],” said Arisa Liu, a senior semiconductor research fellow at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research.

YMTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A Naura spokesman declined to comment.

The cancelled orders come amid tighter US export restrictions on China’s semiconductor industry, as well as a slowdown in the global memory chip market. South Korean memory chip giant Samsung Electronics reported a 69 per cent drop in operating profit in the fourth quarter of 2022.

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