...January 6, 2021 HONG KONG (S&P Global Ratings) Jan. 6, 2021--S&P Global Ratings today assigned its '###-' long-term issue rating to the U.S. dollar-denominated senior unsecured notes that SK Hynix Inc. (###-/Stable/--) proposes to issue. The Korea-based memory chipmaker plans to use the proceeds mainly for general corporate purposes, including the repayment of outstanding borrowings and capital expenditure. We expect SK Hynix's operating performance to materially recover in 2020 and 2021, compared with 2019, mainly owing to favorable demand for memory semiconductor amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We estimate the company's EBITDA will rise 25%-30% in 2020 and increase further in 2021 as demand remains favorable. SK Hynix's planned acquisition of Intel Corp.'s NAND business is modestly credit positive, in our view. The US$9 billion (equivalent to about Korean won [KRW] 10 trillion) acquisition could substantially strengthen SK Hynix's position in the NAND market, where the company's presence...
