CXMT surges 466% in Shanghai debut after $8.6 billion IPO

CXMT, China’s largest memory chipmaker, debuted on Shanghai’s STAR market after raising 57.9 billion yuan by selling 6.688 billion shares at 8.66 yuan each, with proceeds potentially rising to 66.61 billion yuan if an over-allotment option is exercised. The stock jumped as much as 535% to 55.03 yuan shortly after trading opened, extending the blockbuster reception that made ChangXin Memory Technologies the most valuable listed company on mainland Chinese exchanges. The deal was Asia’s largest IPO this year, the biggest ever by a Chinese semiconductor company and the second-largest mainland listing since Agricultural Bank of China’s 2010 share sale. Investors are now debating whether CXMT can become a serious long-term challenger to Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron Technology as memory shortages persist and artificial intelligence demand lifts the sector. Nomura analyst Donnie Teng rates the stock a buy with a 116 yuan target price and projects CXMT’s global DRAM share will rise from about 10% now to 18% by the end of 2028, helped by annual shipment growth of 40% to 45% through 2030. Morningstar analyst Wei Jingjie is more cautious, setting fair value at 14.90 yuan and arguing that without access to EUV lithography equipment, CXMT will struggle to close the technology gap and will likely continue selling DRAM at lower prices than pure-play rivals. The company is also drawing attention for its push into HBM, where it has supplied HBM3 samples to Chinese AI chip designers including Huawei and aims to mass-produce HBM3E by 2027, although yield and reliability challenges are widely expected.