Japan restricts trade, Samsung and SK Hynix require domestic suppliers to increase supply of chemical materials

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix on Tuesday asked local South Korean supplier Foosung to increase supplies of key chipmaking chemical materials to prevent production disruptions, people familiar with the matter said, Reuters reported.        

According to a Foosung source, “They (the two companies) are checking almost every day to ensure they get more product supplies from us.”

Foosung is currently a supplier to Samsung and SK Hynix, mainly providing hydrogen fluoride materials to the two companies. Due to the highly toxic nature of hydrogen fluoride, storage and accumulation is not a viable option, so increasing shipments is critical.

Samsung and SK Hynix declined to comment.    

It is worth mentioning that in addition to calling for production efforts in South Korea, the two companies are also working hard to find supply sources abroad.

SK Hynix has reportedly begun testing hydrogen fluoride materials imported from China, and Samsung Electronics has also recently placed a large-scale order for high-purity hydrogen fluoride from Xi'an.