Hong Kong chip stocks slide 23% as global semiconductor rout deepens

Hong Kong-listed semiconductor stocks tumbled on Wednesday, with Montage Technology (澜起科技) plunging more than 23%, as a global chip selloff deepened ahead of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s quarterly earnings.

"The underperformance of some new listings likely reflects a more cautious market backdrop and broader uncertainties surrounding global trade and geopolitics," said Chokwai Lee, a director at Morningstar.

GigaDevice (兆易创新) fell more than 9%, Hua Hong Grace (华虹宏力) dropped over 6%, and SMIC (中芯国际, 0981.HK) declined alongside other sector peers including晶门半导体. The selloff extended to IPO debutants, with Apple supplier Luxshare Precision Industry sliding as much as 9.6% on its first trading day after raising HK$24.27 billion ($3.1 billion) in Hong Kong's biggest listing this year. Knowledge Atlas Technology, also known as Zhipu AI, climbed 11.3% after launching a roughly $4 billion share placement, while Nexchip Semiconductor priced its HK listing to raise about HK$6.98 billion.

The weakness in Hong Kong semiconductor names mirrors a broader regional rout. South Korea's KOSPI plunged more than 6% on Thursday, briefly triggering a trading halt, as SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics tumbled between 8% and 11%. Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 2.7%, with chip stocks leading losses. The selloff comes as investors question the sustainability of AI-driven spending and as a record wave of lock-up expirations after a strong first half for new listings casts a shadow over the market.

The Hang Seng Index bucked the regional trend, rising 1.7%, as gains in food and robotics stocks offset semiconductor losses. Qiyunshan Food (2797.HK) surged nearly threefold to HK$26 per share, while Rokae Robotics (3752.HK) climbed 15.2%. The divergence highlights growing selectivity among investors, who are rotating away from richly valued tech names toward sectors with clearer near-term catalysts.

Adding to the pressure, MiniMax Group (0100.HK) plunged as much as 18% on Thursday as the company's first large post-listing lock-up period expired, freeing up roughly 45% of its issued share capital for public trading. The lock-up wave follows a strong first half for Hong Kong IPOs, with Chinese technology and advanced manufacturing firms rushing to list.

Investor attention now shifts to TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker and a key supplier to Nvidia and Apple. Analysts expect the company to deliver a fifth consecutive quarter of record profit, driven by robust AI-related demand. Any change to its full-year revenue or capital spending outlook could shape sentiment across the global semiconductor sector and determine whether the current selloff deepens or stabilizes.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.