In brief
CXMT’s stocks leapt 470% on their debut on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Star Market, turning the company into China's most valuable listed firm with a market cap of roughly 3.3 trillion yuan. The IPO was aided by a limited 7% tradable supply and strong domestic demand for AI‑related memory chips. Analysts see the large first‑day rally as a sign of investor confidence during a period of global tech sell‑offs. The proceeds will finance expanded chip production and R&D to support China's push for technology self‑reliance. Meanwhile, the surge nudges Chinese financial authorities close to their goal of reversing a recent market slump that erased over $1.5tn.
Shares of China's biggest memory chip maker surged by more than 470% during their debut on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's tech‑heavy Star Market, inflating the firm's valuation to roughly 3.3 trillion yuan ($487bn).
The listing followed a global tech‑stock selloff, yet a fanatical supply shortage of only 7% of shares available for trading pushed prices dramatically higher. “The extraordinary bounce this morning … is that only 7% of the shares are available for trading,” explained Anna Macdonald, investment strategy director at Hargreaves Lansdown.
CXMT – founded in 2016 by Chairman Zhu Yiming and headquartered in Hefei, Anhui Province – produces dynamic random‑access memory chips that power AI data centres, mobiles, PCs and other devices. Proceeds from the IPO will largely fund expansion of chip output and further research and development.
The spectacular debut offers a morale boost to Chinese officials whose recent measures aim to curb a market slump that erased more than $1.5tn this year.
Globally, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and US‑based Micron dominate the DRAM market, capturing around 90% of production. Prior to this month, SK Hynix raised $26.5bn in a New York share offering, becoming the largest foreign listing in the United States.
The rapid rise of CXMT illustrates China's ambition to become self‑reliant in high‑tech manufacturing while riding the wave of AI expansion worldwide.
