Key Points
- Korea’s memory chip exports to Taiwan surged 225.7% in the first half of 2024, reaching $4.26 billion.
- The growth is driven by strong demand for high bandwidth memory (HBM) products, which are essential for AI accelerators.
- Taiwan became the third-largest importer of Korean memory chips, overtaking Vietnam and the United States.
- SK hynix, the sole Korean supplier of HBM to Nvidia, plays a key role in the export surge.
South Korea’s memory chip exports to Taiwan experienced a staggering 225.7% increase in the first half of 2024, driven by the surging demand for high-performance High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) products fueled by the rapid expansion of the global artificial intelligence (AI) market. This growth trend in the AI market is a promising sign for the future. According to data from the industry ministry and the Korea International Trade Association, these exports reached $4.26 billion in the first six months of the year, significantly outpacing the overall growth rate of Korean memory chip exports, which saw an 88.7% increase.
Taiwan emerged as the third-largest importer of Korean memory chips during this period, surpassing Vietnam and the United States. The sharp rise in exports is primarily attributed to the supply of HBM products by major Korean chipmaker SK hynix and U.S. AI chip giant Nvidia. Nvidia, which packages its AI accelerators at Taiwan’s Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), has become a key player in the AI market, further boosting demand for HBM.
SK hynix is currently the sole Korean company supplying HBM products, a crucial component in AI accelerators, to Nvidia. This relationship has been instrumental in driving the surge in memory chip exports to Taiwan. Kim Yang-paeng, a researcher at the Korea Institutes for Industrial Economics & Trade, noted that the significant export increase is likely linked to SK hynix’s supply of HBM for TSMC’s final packaging of AI accelerators.
The demand for HBM products has been on a steep upward trajectory. Last month, during an earnings call, SK hynix reported that its HBM sales had soared by more than 250% year-on-year in the second quarter. The company also projected a 300% increase in HBM revenue for 2024 compared to the previous year, reflecting the growing significance of AI in driving the demand for advanced memory solutions.
This surge in memory chip exports to Taiwan underscores the critical role that Korean companies like SK Hynix play in the global semiconductor supply chain. Their partnerships with international giants like Nvidia are a testament to the industry’s collaborative nature, particularly in the rapidly evolving AI sector. As AI technologies expand, the demand for high-performance memory products is expected to rise, further solidifying these relationships.
