China’s leading memory chipmaker, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), experienced a remarkable market debut in Shanghai on Monday, with shares soaring by 470 per cent.
The spectacular rise briefly pushed the valuation of the Anhui-based firm to 3.3 trillion yuan ($490 billion), temporarily overtaking Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) as the most valuable listed company in mainland China.
The surge comes as the global push to build data centres capable of running artificial intelligence technology has created an unprecedented shortage of memory chips.
CXMT raised 66.6 billion yuan ($9.8 billion) in its initial public offering on Shanghai’s tech-focused STAR Market.
The share sale marks the largest mainland technology listing in Chinese history, surpassing the 46.3 billion yuan raised by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) in 2020.
Heavy demand for specialised chips used in artificial intelligence servers has forced manufacturers to reallocate production capacity, creating a severe shortage of conventional dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips for everyday electronics such as laptops and smartphones.
The resulting supply squeeze has pushed market prices significantly higher and boosted profitability across the semiconductor sector.
American consumer electronics giant Apple is reportedly testing DRAM components produced by CXMT for potential use in its product line as it manages ongoing industry supply constraints.
Although CXMT is included on a United States Department of Defence list of entities with alleged military ties, the designation does not prohibit American firms from conducting commercial business with the company.
Established in 2016, CXMT has grown to become the fourth-largest producer of DRAM memory chips globally, holding roughly eight per cent of the international market behind established industry leaders Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron.
