Samsung says lockdown could disrupt chip sector

High output: A man walks past an advertisement for Samsung smartphones in Seoul. The company’s memory chip operation in Xian is one of the largest foreign projects in China. — AFP

SEOUL: Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology, two of the world’s largest memory chip makers, warned that strict Covid-19 curbs in the Chinese city of Xian could disrupt their chip manufacturing bases in the area.

The lockdown in the city puts further pressure on global supply chains and adds to a torturous year for exporters facing sharply higher freight costs even as prices for raw materials, including semiconductors, skyrocketed amid the pandemic.