SK Hynix on Tuesday said it plans to spend 31 trillion won ($25.94 billion) to build two new chip plants in South Korea, aiming to update its production technologies. The firm, which competes with rivals including Samsung, Micron Technology and Toshiba, said the plants would be completed by 2024 but did not comment on what they would make or when they would begin production.SK Hynix said it would consider market conditions before deciding on specific construction plans for the new plants, suggesting a conservative approach.

The new plants are part of a 46 trillion won investment plan first announced by conglomerate SK Group that controls SK Hynix last week.

The company said the M14 plant, the largest single DRAM production plant in the world, would start
making chips during the current quarter.

In related news, South Korean media report that SK Hynix has invested about $1.8 million (2.2 billion won) and acquired a 9.1 per cent stake in an image sensor start-up from Silicon Valley, Stratio Technology Inc. An official from SK Hynix noted, however, that there was no official statement about the said investment yet.