SK Hynix Restarts Dalian NAND Plant in China, 50% Capacity Boost Spurs Stock Rebound

TradingKey - SK Hynix Resumes Equipment Installation at Dalian NAND Plant, Positive News Drives Stock Rebound.

According to South Korean media reports on August 11, SK Hynix (SKHY)'s second plant in Dalian, China, has officially resumed investment and equipment installation after nearly four years of suspension. This plan became a core catalyst driving a strong rebound in SK Hynix's stock price. In today's pre-market trading, SK Hynix rose nearly 1% to $136.49.

SK Hynix stock price chart, Source: TradingView

It is reported that equipment installation at the second Dalian plant is expected to begin as early as November 2026, with mass production officially commencing in the first half of 2027. At that time, the plant's new production lines are planned to have a monthly capacity of approximately 50,000 wafers. Combined with the original monthly capacity of 100,000 wafers at the first plant, total local capacity will expand to 150,000 wafers per month.

The core reason driving SK Hynix to resume expansion is the surge in large language models (LLMs) and AI training data, which has led to explosive growth in demand for high-speed, high-capacity enterprise SSDs, pushing NAND prices into a strong recovery from their trough. In addition, the U.S. export review mechanism for semiconductor equipment to China has shifted to a predictable annual approval system, and an anti-data center construction movement in the U.S. has emerged in over 40 states, which will undoubtedly reduce operational uncertainty surrounding equipment introduction and installation.