A leading Chinese chipmaker is going ahead with a listing in Shanghai that will fund major expansion, after receiving confirmation from US chip toolmakers that they can supply its new production lines.
After months of uncertainty, ChangXin Memory Technologies has been told the chipmaking equipment it needs will not be subject to US export controls, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter.
CXMT was founded seven years ago and is one of China’s biggest DRam memory-chip makers. It is also the only one capable of producing them at a miniaturisation level below 20 billionths of a metre. CXMT plans to use American equipment that can make less sophisticated chips for phones, servers and electric vehicles, bypassing the tightened requirements for exports of advanced chip tools.