The American memory chip manufacturer Micron announced on Friday that it was dedicated to China and was going to invest 4.3 billion yuan, around $603 million, in its chip packaging factory in the Chinese city Xian over the coming several years.
The largest memory chip manufacturer in the US has been singled out by China's cybersecurity regulator, who announced last month that the company failed to pass a network security audit and that operators of critical infrastructure would no longer be allowed to purchase from it.
In its statement that was published on WeChat on Friday, Micron did not mention the outcome of the review.
CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said that this investment project shows Micron's unwavering dedication to its China business and team.
The investment would entail purchasing packaging machinery from a Xian-based affiliate of Taiwan's Powertech Technology Inc that Micron has been utilizing in the plant since 2016, according to the company.
In order to improve the packaging and testing capacity of the facility, Micron will also inaugurate an additional production line at the location to create mobile DRAM, SSD and NAND products.
According to a separate announcement from Powertech, the agreement between the companies from 2016 included a plan for Micron to purchase the equipment, thus Powertech would only see very limited financial impact.
Requests for comment were not immediately answered by Micron, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, or the Cyberspace Administration of China.
Xian division of Powertech employs 1,200 people, and Micron stated it will provide contracts to them. Micron did not specify the deal's value, but said that this investment would add 500 jobs.
According to the corporation, this would increase Micron's employee count in China to around 4,500.
In May, Micron predicted that the China ban would result in a revenue decline in the low- to high-single digit percentage range. Chinese authorities were reducing their purchases of Micron's chips prior to the ban, according to an investigation of over 100 public tenders of government.