South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor Inc will invest $1.3 billion in memory chip lines, including an unspecified amount to build a cutting-edge NAND flash memory chip line, the company said on August 09.
The announcement comes as global memory chip makers boost NAND chip capacity to meet growing demand for the chips, used in popular digital cameras and music players.
Hynix, the world's second-biggest memory chip maker, said in a filing to the Korea Exchange it would invest 1.26 trillion won ($1.31 billion) in expanding and upgrading its memory chip lines as well as related research and development activities.
Some of the funds would be spent to build a NAND chip production line using an advanced 60-nanometre process technology, a company executive told Reuters.
"The investment will be used for incremental capacity expansion for our 12-inch lines and investment in a 60-nanometre NAND flash fab," said James Kim, director of investor and public relations at Hynix.
Hynix and rivals, including sector leader Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and third-ranked Japan's Toshiba Corp, are investing to ramp up capacity and drive down production costs.