Samsung Electronics' new NAND flash plant in Xian, China reportedly has begun commercial operations, adding more pressure to the fragile NAND flash market, according to industry sources.

　　But some sources pointed out that the initial production of the Xian plant will be limited due to sluggishness in the NANA flash market, adding that a relatively low yield rate of the plant's 3D NAND devices will also prohibit Samsung from ramping wafer production.

　　However, downstream memory module makers have taken the opportunity to purchase low-priced NAND flash chips in meaningful volumes, which will allow them to roll out more competitive SSD products, said the sources.

　　Transcend Information reportedly bought in a large quantity of cheaper NAND flash chips from Micron Technology in February, enabling the memory module vendor to ramp up its competitiveness for NAND flash-based products, particularly in the SSD segment, revealed the sources.