The outfit wants to take on Samsung, Micron and Toshiba, but it has not said what the two plants will make when they are ready.

The plants will be completed by 2024 which delays the shock a bit, but given that the DRAM industry is doing well because there is no oversupply or price wars, many are hoping the outfit is not making more DRAM.

The new plants are part of an investment plan first announced by conglomerate SK Group that controls Hynix last week. The plan includes cash for the M14 DRAM chip plan in Icheon, a city southeast of Seoul.

The company said the M14 plant, the largest single DRAM production plant in the world, would start making chips during the current quarter.

Analysts said Hynix's new spending likely would not harm the industry's profitability, given it is spread over a long period of time. Spending for the new plants will likely fall well within the firm's typical capital expenditures, they said.

Hynix said it would consider market conditions before deciding on specific construction plans for the new plants, suggesting a conservative approach.