CXMT's STAR Market IPO approval, the largest A-share listing this year at RMB 29.5 billion, sent shares of Chinese chipmakers surging on Wednesday as investors bet on a semiconductor sector revival.
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CXMT's RMB 29.5b IPO win lifts SMIC, Hua Hong by 6%, 12%
CXMT's STAR Market IPO approval, the largest A-share listing this year at RMB 29.5 billion, sent shares of Chinese chipmakers surging on Wednesday as investors bet on a semiconductor sector revival.
CXMT's initial public offering on Shanghai's STAR Market passed the exchange's listing committee review, with the application status updated to "Submitted for Registration," according to the prospectus. The chipmaker plans to issue as many as 10.622 billion shares, raising RMB 29.5 billion in what would be the largest A-share IPO so far this year and the second-largest in STAR Market history, trailing only SMIC's landmark listing.
"The STAR Market continues to serve as the primary fundraising channel for China's semiconductor champions," the SSE listing committee said in its review statement. CXMT's IPO proceeds will fund capacity expansion and technology development, the prospectus shows.
Shares of SMIC (00981.HK) reversed an early decline of 0.29 percent to close at HKD 90.10, up 5.75 percent, with turnover reaching 158 million shares worth HKD 14.258 billion. Hua Hong Semi (01347.HK) jumped 12.01 percent to HKD 170.70, with 36.63 million shares changing hands for HKD 6.111 billion. Short-selling activity was elevated across both names, with SMIC's short ratio at 13.65 percent and Hua Hong's at 16.89 percent as of May 27.
What the IPO Means for China's Chip Sector
The listing would mark a milestone for China's drive toward semiconductor self-sufficiency. CXMT, one of the country's leading memory chipmakers, joins a STAR Market that has hosted SMIC, the foundry giant that raised RMB 53.2 billion in its 2020 IPO. The CXMT offering, if completed at the proposed size, would rank as the second-largest A-share IPO globally this year and provide a critical capital injection for domestic DRAM production capacity.
The rally in SMIC and Hua Hong reflects investor optimism that a successful CXMT listing could catalyze further capital-market support for the semiconductor supply chain. Both companies, as key players in China's chip ecosystem, stand to benefit from increased government and investor focus on domestic fabrication capacity.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
