Reuters reported on 6 November that Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC), China’s top flash memory chipmaker, is aiming for domestic suppliers to provide at least 60% of the equipment for a planned fourth factory, with an ambition to reach 70%, according to people familiar with the matter. Its third factory sources just over half of its equipment from Chinese suppliers, the report said.
The same report cited Omdia data showing YMTC’s share of NAND flash in China rose to 38.5% in the second quarter from 28% in 2025, placing it ahead of Samsung as the largest NAND producer in China. The 70% ambition is about 20 percentage points above the third factory’s share, by our arithmetic.
Business Pill · Concentration
A short Business Engineer explainer on concentration: when a few big pieces make up most of a total. It teaches the general idea only and says nothing about YMTC or chip equipment.
The key insight: As we read it, the report describes a step-up in how much of a Chinese memory fab is built with Chinese tools: at least 60% and as much as 70% for YMTC’s planned fourth factory, against just over half for its third, according to people familiar with the matter. That is about 10 to 20 percentage points more, by our arithmetic, with lithography and inspection still sourced abroad.
Construction on the fourth plant is expected to begin next year, and YMTC has only held preliminary discussions with suppliers and has not yet placed formal orders, according to the report as relayed by Traders Union. The third factory is due to begin operating later this year. We could not read Reuters’ own text; the details here come from two relays of it, named as we use them.
YMTC still relies on overseas suppliers for more sophisticated equipment used in lithography, inspection and other advanced manufacturing processes, the relay said. The shift comes as U.S. export controls limit the company’s access to some American chipmaking technology, while also adding pressure on South Korean rivals Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix as they weigh capacity expansion and technology upgrades in China, according to the same account.
Crypto Briefing’s account of the report says the fourth fab is expected to break ground in Wuhan, where YMTC is headquartered, and names AMEC, Naura and Piotech as key suppliers at the third plant. It says YMTC already runs two fabs with a combined capacity of approximately 200,000 wafers a month, and that the third plant is planned to reach 50,000 wafers a month by 2027 and eventually 100,000. It also says YMTC’s parent, CCSH, has paused a planned IPO of approximately CNY 33 billion.
By our arithmetic, the 60% floor is about 10 points and the 70% ambition about 20 points above the third factory’s just-over-half share. Omdia’s China share figures imply a 10.5-point gain from 2025 to the second quarter. On Crypto Briefing’s figures, the third plant’s full 100,000 wafers a month would equal half of what YMTC’s two running fabs make.
As we read the timing, the plan is early: construction is expected next year and YMTC has not placed formal orders, so the 70% figure is an ambition rather than a booked share.
As we read the Omdia figures in the report, YMTC’s position in China’s NAND market has grown 10.5 points since 2025, which is the domestic base the new factory would add to.
As we read the export-control context, the tools the report says YMTC still imports, for lithography and inspection, are the steps the localisation target does not cover.
Reuters’ report, as relayed by Traders Union
“has only held preliminary discussions with suppliers and has not yet placed formal orders”
Three Implications
FOR CHINESE TOOLMAKERS Crypto Briefing’s account names AMEC, Naura and Piotech as key suppliers at the third plant; the report says no formal orders for the fourth have been placed.
FOR SAMSUNG AND SK HYNIX The report says export controls add pressure on them as they weigh capacity expansion and technology upgrades in China.
FOR READING THE FIGURES The targets come from people familiar with the matter, not from YMTC, and we could not read Reuters’ own text.
The framework says: “The AI race has a new bottleneck, and it’s not what most observers expect.”
As we read it, YMTC’s tooling plan is about who supplies the machines that make memory, one layer below the chips the framework discusses. The framework does not discuss YMTC, NAND or this report.
What Is Not Established
The plan comes from people familiar with the matter; YMTC has not announced it, and we found no comment from the company. YMTC has not placed formal orders, so neither the suppliers nor the value of any equipment orders for the fourth plant is established. The capacity, supplier and IPO details are Crypto Briefing’s account and may draw on earlier reporting; we could not check them against Reuters’ own text. Omdia’s share figure covers the China market only.
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Reuters reported that YMTC is aiming for at least 60% and as much as 70% Chinese-made equipment in a fourth factory, up from just over half in its third, according to people familiar with the matter. Construction is expected to begin next year, no formal orders have been placed, and YMTC still relies on foreign tools for lithography and inspection. Omdia data in the report put YMTC ahead of Samsung in China’s NAND market, at 38.5% in the second quarter.
A note on sourcing. The equipment targets, timing, supplier status and Omdia share figures are from Reuters’ exclusive of 6 November 2026, which we could not read directly; we used the Traders Union relay of it. Capacity, supplier names and the IPO detail are Crypto Briefing’s account, named as such. The percentage-point gaps and the capacity comparison are our arithmetic. Market moves are from our own earlier pieces, linked.
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur (for example, How to Digitize a Family Business in Europe) and HackerNoon. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
