#淡马锡投资SK海力士并推进日本新厂 As of September 15, 2026, neither of these two matters has reached the stage of final approval and implementation: Temasek's investment is still under evaluation, while the site and partnership plans for the new plant in Japan are still being considered.
Temasek investment: first direct investment in Korean stocks, targeting Hynix
Temasek plans to directly invest in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix and has communicated with the South Korean government regarding the timing of its entry.
The funds will be managed by Temasek's internal team rather than entrusted to an external institution.
The core rationale is optimism about AI-driven demand for memory chips, with the view that memory giants such as Hynix remain undervalued[6].
The investment amount, stake, and transaction date have not yet been disclosed, so this remains at the proposed investment stage.
New plant in Japan: from site selection to joint-venture production
SK Hynix is evaluating the construction of a memory chip production base in Japan, with Miyagi Prefecture among the candidate locations.
Chairman Chey Tae-won said the candidate regions need sufficient power and water resources; the specific site, products, and partnership structure have yet to be determined.
Signals in early September made the plan clearer: SK is considering joint production with Kioxia, Japan's NAND leader, while also advancing R&D and supply-chain sharing.
The core reason for expanding production is a roughly 20%—30% shortage of AI memory chips, which would be difficult to address through existing investments in South Korea alone.
Japan has advantages in materials, equipment, and customer clusters, and local governments are actively competing to attract the project; specific policies could be introduced as early as year-end.
Three signals to watch next
Whether Temasek formally discloses the investment amount and stake.
Whether SK Hynix announces the location, products, and joint-venture partner for the Japanese plant.
Whether the two sides can secure subsidy commitments from the Japanese government, as well as the project's final implementation timeline.$SK Hynix