CXMT Shares Surge 470% in Record Debut, Becomes China’s Most Valuable Listed Firm
ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), China's largest memory chip manufacturer, saw its shares surge nearly 470% on its first day of trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's Star Market, propelling its market valuation to approximately 3.3 trillion yuan ($487 billion). This makes CXMT the most valuable listed company in mainland China, surpassing previous record holders.
The dramatic rise occurred despite a global sell-off in technology stocks this month. The company, founded in 2016 and headquartered in Hefei, Anhui Province, produces dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips used in AI data centres, mobile phones, PCs, and other devices.
Analysts attribute the steep price jump to a limited number of shares available for trading—only 7% of the total shares were floated. “The reason for the extraordinary bounce this morning is that only 7% of the shares are available for trading,” said Anna Macdonald, investment strategy director at Hargreaves Lansdown. This supply-demand imbalance, coupled with strong investor appetite for a homegrown chipmaker amid Beijing's push for technological self-reliance, drove the surge.
CXMT plans to use most of the initial public offering (IPO) proceeds to boost memory chip production and research and development. The successful listing offers some relief to Chinese financial authorities, who have been implementing measures to stem a stock market slump that erased over $1.5 trillion in recent weeks.
The global DRAM market is dominated by South Korea's Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, and US-based Micron Technology, which together control about 90% of production. However, rising memory chip prices—more than doubling in recent months—and persistent supply shortages are prompting customers to diversify suppliers. Ellie Wong, an analyst at TrendForce, noted, “Amid persistent supply shortages, many customers are seeking to diversify their memory supplier base, which should significantly benefit CXMT.”
In a related development, SK Hynix raised $26.5 billion in its New York share offering earlier this month, the largest ever listing by a foreign firm in the US. Its shares surged up to 17% on their first day but have since partly retreated. SK Hynix's market value topped $1 trillion in South Korea in May, driven by AI chip demand.
Memory chip price increases have led some major tech companies to raise prices on popular gadgets like tablets and video game consoles. TrendForce expects these price hikes to continue through 2027.
