China has launched an investigation Samsung Electronics Co., SK Hynix and Micron Technology, the three semiconductor manufacturers who control the market for DRAM memory chips.
Beijing claims to investigate the price, because the DRAM prices have risen sharply the first survey of this kind of China, said a source with knowledge of the matter.
"The investigation began in earnest," said the source, who remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the case.
The decision comes at a time when Seoul and Beijing have become more balanced again after bilateral tensions last year, but analysts said the issue was different from previous trade disputes and ongoing trade disputes between the United States. UU and China.
Instead, the high cost of chips hurt many electronics manufacturers, Chinese manufacturers are among the hardest hit, because they work at lower margins than their competitors.
An older South Korean government said that Samsung and SK Hynix argue that prices have not been set.
"This is a situation where strong demand pushes prices and factories can not maintain the level of demand even at full capacity," he told Reuters Moon Sung-wook, a senior ministry for industry.
He added that the South Korean Minister of Industry, Beijing as part of efforts to visit his country's promotion of investment in China, was able to discuss the investigation at a meeting with his colleagues on Tuesday.
The three companies said that officials from the State Administration of China Regulation Market recently visited their offices. A spokesman for Samsung said the company cooperated with the Chinese authorities, but did not provide more details. A spokesman for SK Hynix also pointed out other comments.
The crackdown on chip makers should ensure fair competition, said the Global Times, a Chinese tabloid backed by the state, led by the Daily Communist People's Party.
A doubling of the price
The prices of DRAM chips, which help devices multitasking, more than doubled in two years, because the servers, game PC and the crypto currency suction devices require more firepower to deal with large volumes. Amounts of data transfer.
Although China is investing heavily in its industry to develop emerging chips, it is currently the largest importer of memory products, consuming 20% of the world's DRAM, according to research firm Trend force.
"The research not only reflects the current oligopoly in the DRAM market, but also shows the cost pressures faced by Chinese manufacturers because of the high price of DRAM," Wu said in April DRAM eXchange Research Director, Division of Trend force
A possible poll was presented for the first time at the end of last year when Chinese state media reported that regulators had approached Samsung in South Korea for rising prices.
The DRAM industry has been a frequent target of global regulatory investigations into pricing allegations as the industry is experiencing a wave of agreements that leave two South Korean companies and their US rivals in command. Percent of the market.
Samsung had a market share of 44.9% in the first quarter, while SK Hynix and Micron held 27.9%, 22.6%, according to Trend force.
In April, they were hit with a class lawsuit on behalf of American consumers. UU For the fees they plotted DRAM prices pledged.
Manufacturer also entered a group of complaints with Lenovo Group, the largest PC maker in the world, claiming that the gross profit margin decreased substantially by 0.4 percentage points due to higher component costs, especially memory chip.
Market research firm Gartner predicts that average selling prices of DRAM chips will increase 14.8% this year.
But there could be some relief, providing Apple's CFO in early May that DRAM prices could be "near the top, maybe by the end of this year."
The shares of South Korean companies have been little affected by the news. Samsung ended the day up 0.4% and SK Hynix up 1.4%.
China price penalties changed in recent years.
In 2016, the Commission imposed a fine of 29 million on a local GM joint venture (approximately 195 million rupees) and a local unit of Medtronic 17.2 million.