Investing.com — ChangXin Memory Technologies, China’s largest DRAM chipmaker, expects to raise at least 57.9 billion yuan ($8.6 billion) through a Shanghai listing this month, potentially making it Asia’s largest initial public offering of 2026, Reuters reported.
The offering on Shanghai’s technology-focused STAR Market could increase to 66.6 billion yuan if an overallotment option is exercised.
CXMT produces dynamic random-access memory chips, which provide short-term memory for smartphones, personal computers, servers, and artificial intelligence systems.
The company was the world’s fourth-largest DRAM producer in 2025, holding about 7.7% of the global market. Samsung Electronics (), SK Hynix (), and Micron Technology () remain the three largest suppliers.
AI-related demand and a broader recovery in memory-chip prices have accelerated CXMT’s growth. First-quarter revenue rose 719% from a year earlier to 50.8 billion yuan.
Sales for the first half are forecast at between 110 billion yuan and 120 billion yuan, nearly twice the 61.8 billion yuan generated during all of 2025.
The listing also supports Beijing’s efforts to reduce China’s dependence on foreign semiconductor technology amid tighter US export restrictions.
State-owned investors held 36.29% of CXMT before the IPO. Major shareholders include Anhui Investment Group and the second phase of China’s National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, commonly known as the Big Fund.
Chairman Zhu Yiming, who founded memory-chip designer GigaDevice Semiconductor (), played a central role in establishing CXMT.
Technologically, CXMT still trails its larger rivals in high-bandwidth memory, a key component in AI accelerators from companies such as Nvidia (). Samsung and SK Hynix dominate that market, with Micron also expanding production.
Risks include the memory industry’s boom-and-bust cycle and US controls restricting access to advanced manufacturing equipment from suppliers such as ASML Holding ().
The US Defense Department designated CXMT a “Chinese Military Company” last month. The chipmaker plans to use the IPO proceeds to expand capacity, upgrade manufacturing technology, and fund research and development.