SK Hynix is studying ways to deepen cooperation with Japanese memory customers and suppliers and carefully assessing joint development of the NAND flash market, CEO Kwak Noh-Jung said, while confirming there are no definite plans for its significant indirect stake in Kioxia. After Toshiba reduced its holding this month, Bain vehicle BCPE Pangea Cayman2, through which SK Hynix holds convertible bonds carrying nearly all voting rights, became Kioxia’s largest shareholder at 14.19%, subject to a pre-2028 cap limiting voting interest to 15% without Kioxia’s consent. The comments come as SK Hynix remains heavily reliant on older 176-layer NAND versus rivals’ 200-layer-class mainstream output, after NAND capital spending fell while investment prioritized DRAM and HBM. Kioxia and Sandisk plan joint Japan investments exceeding $31 billion through 2032, contingent on government support, as AI-driven memory scarcity lifts prices and pressured Nvidia’s gross-margin outlook even after a $96 billion quarter. The company is investing more than $4 billion in its first U.S. HBM packaging base in Indiana, with a cleanroom targeted for October 2028, next-generation HBM mass production in the second half of 2029 and about 1,000 jobs at full operation, and is still evaluating a possible listing of U.S. NAND unit Solidigm without a decision.