SanDisk and Kioxia Plan Over $31 Billion in Japanese Memory Plant Investments
Flash memory specialists SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) and its manufacturing partner, Kioxia, announced plans to invest more than $31 billion into their joint NAND flash production facilities in Japan by 2032. The investment will focus on infrastructure upgrades at the Yokkaichi and Kitakami plants as well as technology development. This plan is conditional upon support from the Japanese government. The proposed investment represents about 60% of what both companies have collectively spent over their more than two decades-long partnership in Japan, which has already totaled $50 billion. The funding will be shared through a joint venture structure known as Flash Ventures, with SanDisk holding a near-50% stake and Kioxia owning the physical facilities. Despite earlier statements from management that capital expenditures would remain low relative to revenue growth—projected at around 6% of sales in fiscal 2027—the scale of this investment raises questions. However, CFO Luis Visoso clarified that these figures are consistent with existing guidance and reflect SanDisk’s share of joint venture spending.
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Topics: capex flash_memory joint_venture semiconductors