Chinese chipmaker shares surge nearly 470% in blockbuster stock market debut

Shares of China’s largest domestic memory chip producer jumped nearly 470% in their blockbuster debut on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s tech‑focused Star Market. ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) saw its market valuation swell to roughly 3.3 trillion yuan – about $487 billion or £365 billion – instantly becoming the most valuable listed company on the mainland. The spectacular rally comes despite a broad sell‑off in technology shares worldwide this month. CXMT manufactures dynamic random‑access memory (DRAM) chips that power AI data centres, smartphones, PCs, tablets and a range of other devices. Founded in 2016 by Chairman Zhu Yiming and headquartered in Hefei, Anhui Province, the firm said it intends to devote most of the proceeds from its initial public offering to expanding chip production and accelerating research and development. Analysts welcomed the debut as a morale boost for Chinese financial authorities, who have been rolling out measures to stem a market slump that erased more than $1.5 trillion in recent weeks. “The reason for the bonzer bounce this morning is that only 7% of the shares are available for trading,” Anna Macdonald, equity strategy manager at Hargreaves Lansdown, told the BBC’s Today programme. The surge also underscores strong investor appetite for a homegrown chipmaker as Beijing pushes to make the nation’s technology manufacturing self‑reliant. South Korean rivals Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, together with U.S. leader Micron, currently control about 90% of global DRAM output. Earlier this month, SK Hynix raised $26.5 billion (£19.8 billion) in its New York stock offering – the largest ever listing by an overseas company in the United States. The supplier to AI chip giant Nvidia said it had sold 177.9 million American depositary shares at $149 each. SK Hynix’s shares rose as much as 17% on their first day of Nasdaq trading on Friday, though they have since relinquished part of that gain. In May, the company’s market value topped a trillion market valuation in its home‑state valuation breached $1 trillion, buoyed by surging demand for AI chips. Once a low‑cost component in consumer electronics, DRAM prices have more than doubled over the past several months and continue to climb. Several major tech firms have already raised the prices of popular gadgets such as tablets and video‑game consoles to offset higher component costs. Ellie Wong, an analyst at technology research firm TrendForce, told Reuters that further price increases are expected to persist through the end of 2027. “Amid persistent supply shortages, many customers are seeking to diversify their DRAM supplier base, which should significantly benefit CXMT and create more business opportunities,” she said.