獨家：消息人士稱 SK海力士與英特爾洽談交易，擬首次在美國製造記憶體晶片

記者 Heekyong Yang、Alexandra Alper、Hyunjoo JinBy Heekyong Yang, Alexandra Alper and Hyunjoo Jin

首爾／華盛頓9月16日（路透）——3名知情人士表示，SK海力士（SK Hynix）正與英特爾（Intel）洽談一項交易，若成局，這家南韓公司將首次在美國本土製造記憶體晶片。SEOUL/WASHINGTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - SK Hynix is in talks with Intel about a deal that would see the South Korean company manufacture memory chips on U.S. soil for the first time, three people familiar with the discussions said.

他們表示，一種可能方案是，SK海力士將租用英特爾在俄亥俄州籌畫已久的晶片製造設施一部分。其中兩名人士表示，另一種方案則是，SK海力士可能與英特爾及有意確保記憶體晶片供應的大型雲端業者成立合資事業。Under one potential scenario, SK Hynix would lease part of Intel's long-planned chipmaking facility in Ohio, they said. Under another scenario, it could form a venture with Intel and major cloud firms that are keen to lock in memory chip supplies, two of the people said.

交易若達成，將可紓解近來陷入困境的英特爾所承受的壓力，也將成為川普政府的一大勝利。隨著 AI 與資料中心投資持續不斷，推升記憶體晶片嚴重短缺，川普政府正加大對晶片製造商的施壓，要求它們在美國建廠。A deal would relieve pressure on Intel, which has been struggling, and mark a big win for the Trump administration, which has been ramping up pressure on chipmakers to build in the United States as relentless investment in AI and data centres fuels an acute shortage of memory chips.

不過，消息人士表示，來自首爾方面的潛在反對可能成為一大障礙。But potential opposition from Seoul could be a major hurdle, the sources said.

其中一名消息人士形容，相關談判仍屬探索性質，並強調尚未作出任何決定。他還說，SK海力士也可能考慮以其他方式設計這項交易架構。One of the sources described the talks as exploratory and stressed that no decisions have been made, adding that SK Hynix might also consider other ways to structure the deal.

英特爾股價週三開盤大漲5.5%，SK海力士在首爾掛牌的股票則收高4.1%。Intel shares surged 5.5% at the open on Wednesday, while SK Hynix's stock finished 4.1% higher in Seoul.

有關 SK海力士與英特爾交易可能如何安排的細節，這是首次被報導。不過，若雙方達成協議，路透社未能得知 SK海力士可能在俄亥俄州製造哪些類型的晶片。Details about how a SK Hynix-Intel deal might be structured are being reported for the first time. Reuters was, however, not able to learn what types of chips SK Hynix may manufacture in Ohio if an agreement is struck.

SK海力士的產品線包括用於伺服器、個人電腦與智慧型手機的 DRAM（動態隨機存取記憶體）晶片，以及提供長期儲存記憶體的 NAND 快閃記憶體晶片。該公司也是 AI 處理單元所用高頻寬記憶體（HBM）的主要供應商。Its product lineup includes DRAM (dynamic random-access memory) chips used in servers, PCs and smartphones and NAND flash memory chips that provide long-term storage memory. It is also the leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in AI processing units.

來自首爾的潛在反對POTENTIAL OPPOSITION FROM SEOUL

3名消息人士表示，任何生產 HBM 這類先進記憶體，甚至 DRAM 的協議，都可能遭遇南韓政府反對，因為這些技術被視為敏感技術。由於資訊尚未公開，這3名人士均不願具名。Any agreement to produce advanced memory such as HBM or even DRAM could run into opposition from the South Korean government as those technologies are considered sensitive, said the three sources who declined to be identified as the information is not public.

SK海力士在給路透社的聲明中表示，公司正「檢討各種措施，包括設立額外生產基地，以強化記憶體事業的競爭力」，但「現階段尚未決定任何事項」。SK Hynix said in a statement to Reuters that it is "reviewing various measures, including establishing additional production bases, to strengthen the competitiveness of its memory business," but "no matters have been determined at this stage."

週三稍晚，SK海力士在其網站發布聲明表示，對於路透社報導中提及的任何特定公司合作，或在美國生產記憶體晶片一事，目前均未最終敲定。Later on Wednesday, SK Hynix said in a statement on its website that nothing had been finalised regarding cooperation with any specific companies mentioned in the Reuters report or memory chip production in the United States.

英特爾不願評論其所稱的臆測，但補充說，公司仍持續在俄亥俄州投資，為該廠址做好準備。Intel declined to comment on what it called speculation, but added that it was continuing with investments in Ohio to ready the site.

被問及 SK海力士可能在美國生產晶片的計畫時，南韓產業通商資源部表示，任何決定將由公司自行裁量；但若涉及「國家核心技術」，就必須依《產業技術保護法》接受審查。Asked about a potential SK Hynix plan to produce chips in the U.S., South Korea's trade ministry said any decision would be at the company's discretion but if it involved a "national core technology," it would be subject to a review under the Industrial Technology Protection Act.

美國商務部未回應採訪詢問。The U.S. Commerce Department did not respond to a request for comment.

在美國建廠的充分理由GOOD REASONS TO BUILD IN THE U.S.

兩名消息人士表示，依據他們的說法，在美國製造半導體的成本遠高於在南韓。其中一人說，在美國建廠意味著勞工與營建成本明顯更高，而且半導體產業供應鏈多半位於亞洲，這也推高了美國的成本。Manufacturing semiconductors in the U.S. costs much more than in South Korea, according to two of the sources. Building in the United States entails significantly higher labour and construction costs, and much of the semiconductor industry's supply chain is located within Asia, which also increases U.S. costs, one of them said.

即便如此，SK海力士仍有充分理由追求在美國製造晶片。該公司7月剛完成在那斯達克第二上市，目前在美國僅有一座位於印第安納州、正在興建中的晶片封裝設施。Even so, SK Hynix, which recently completed a secondary listing on the Nasdaq in July and currently only has a chip packaging facility under construction in Indiana, has good reasons to pursue fabricating chips in the United States.

SK海力士所屬的 SK 集團董事長崔泰源（Chey Tae-won）7月表示，公司面臨來自客戶與各國的龐大壓力與遊說，要求供應更多晶片。Chey Tae-won, chairman of the SK Group conglomerate that SK Hynix is part of, said in July that the company faces enormous pressure and lobbying from customers and countries to supply more chips.

他告訴記者：「我認為我們需要在美國蓋一座工廠。如果可能，我相信我們應該去蓋。」"I think we need to build a factory in the United States. If possible, I believe we should build it," he told reporters.

與 SK海力士達成交易，也將減輕英特爾部分財務壓力；英特爾目前有一部分股權由美國政府持有。A deal with SK Hynix would also ease some of the financial strain on Intel, which is part-owned by the U.S. government.

英特爾於2022年宣布，將投資最高1,000億美元，在俄亥俄州興建可能成為全球最大晶片製造園區的設施，當時計畫於2025年開始生產。但該廠址兩座工廠的完工時間後來已延後至2030年與2031年。Intel announced in 2022 that it would invest up to $100 billion to build potentially the world's largest chipmaking complex in Ohio, with production scheduled to begin in 2025. But completion of the site's two plants has since been delayed to 2030 and 2031.

然而，要同時取悅華盛頓與首爾可能並不容易，尤其是 SK海力士及其競爭對手三星電子（Samsung Electronics）已被南韓政府敦促，加快在南韓西南部打造新晶片製造設施聚落的計畫。Pleasing both Washington and Seoul could be tough, however, particularly as SK Hynix and rival Samsung Electronics have been urged by the Seoul to accelerate plans to build a new cluster of chipmaking facilities in South Korea's southwest.

美國商務部長霍華德・盧特尼克（Howard Lutnick）威脅，除非南韓與台灣企業承諾增加在美國本土生產，否則將對它們課徵最高100%的關稅。U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has threatened to impose up to 100% tariffs on South Korean and Taiwanese companies unless they commit to increased production on American soil.

兩國也一直在就南韓去年對美國作出的一項龐大投資承諾如何執行而拉鋸；南韓當時以此換取較低的美國關稅。在擬議的3,500億美元中，約1,500億美元已指定用於造船，但其餘2,000億美元尚未決定用途。Both countries have also been wrangling over the execution of a huge investment commitment that South Korea made to the U.S. last year in return for lower U.S. tariffs. Some $150 billion of a proposed $350 billion has been earmarked for shipbuilding but the remaining $200 billion is undecided.

兩名消息人士表示，這使 SK海力士處於艱難處境：南韓政府希望把 SK海力士的任何對美投資作為談判籌碼，而華盛頓則對該公司施加沉重壓力，要求其迅速承諾擴大在美國布局。Two of the sources said this has left SK Hynix in a difficult position, with the South Korean government seeking to use any U.S. investment by SK Hynix as leverage in the talks, and Washington heaping pressure on the firm to quickly commit to a U.S. expansion.

（首爾 Heekyong Yang、Hyunjoo Jin，華盛頓 Alexandra Alper，舊金山 Stephen Nellis 採訪報導；Brenda Goh、Edwina Gibbs、Louise Heavens 編輯）(Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Hyunjoo Jin in Seoul, Alexandra Alper in Washington and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Brenda Goh, Edwina Gibbs and Louise Heavens)