China memory chipmaker CXMT's shares soar in a blockbuster share listing
in Shanghai
[July 27, 2026] By
CHAN HO-HIM
HONG KONG (AP) — Shares of CXMT, China's largest memory chipmaker, shot
skyward Monday as they began trading in Shanghai in mainland China’s
biggest initial public stock offering in recent years.
CXMT's shares surged 466% in their first day of trading. The company has
become the most valuable one listed on a mainland Chinese exchange, with
an estimated market capitalization of about 3.3 trillion yuan (more than
$487 billion). But that's still smaller than those of South Korean and
American memory chipmakers like Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron
Technology.
CXMT, or ChangXin Memory Technologies, is among many chipmakers that
have profited mightily from the boom in artificial intelligence. Its
business is thriving as China pushes for greater self-sufficiency in
leading edge technologies while contending with limited access to
advanced chipmaking machines due to American-led restrictions.
The company raised at least $8.6 billion with the offering, priced at
8.66 yuan ($1.3) per share, in its listing on the Shanghai Stock
Exchange’s Nasdaq-like STAR market, also known as the Science and
Technology Innovation Board.
It was mainland China's second largest IPO after the $22.1 billion share
offering of Agricultural Bank of China in Shanghai and Hong Kong in
2010.
Founded in 2016 in the eastern city of Hefei, CXMT is one of the world’s
largest makers of DRAM, or “dynamic random access” memory chips, a kind
of semiconductor used in everything from AI servers to autos and
consumer electronics like smartphones and personal computers.
“CXMT plays a critical role in China’s AI push, particularly in the face
of U.S. export controls,” said Kyle Chan, a fellow at the Brookings
Institution and an expert in China’s technology policies. U.S.
restrictions have also barred China from importing powerful HBM, or
high-bandwidth memory chips – a type of DRAM chip.
The company’s revenue surged to 50.8 billion yuan ($7.5 billion) on
jumping demand from the rapid rise of AI in the first three months of
2026, a more than 700% rise year-on-year.
Soaring use of AI has led to a global memory chip shortage, driving up
prices for some computers and smartphones. One big question, Chan said,
is whether CXMT could help with the broader shortage.
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Workers at the booth for Chinese DRAM producer ChangXin Memory
Technologies, also known as CXMT, wait for visitors at the 21st
China International Semiconductor Expo in Beijing, Nov. 20, 2024.
(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)
 CXMT is seen as China's best shot at
developing its own cutting-edge HBM chips to power Chinese AI
models, Chan said. But it also faces many challenges, including
supply chain bottlenecks in scaling up manufacturing capacity, since
its access to the world’s most best chipmaking tools is highly
restricted, forcing it to depend on Chinese equipment makers.
According to Counterpoint Research, a technology research firm, CXMT
was the world's fourth biggest DRAM memory chipmaker in 2025 by
shipments, taking up roughly 8% of the global market. Samsung
Electronics accounted for 36%, SK Hynix 29% and Micron about 24%.
In the first three months of this year CXMT accounted for
approximately 9% of global shipments. By 2028, its market share is
forecast by Counterpoint Research to reach about 11%. But the
research firm estimated CXMT will likely need at least a 15% global
market share to be competitive in the long term.
“Trade restrictions on tools are remaining as the key challenge for
CXMT,” said MS Hwang, a research director at Counterpoint who
specializes in memory semiconductors. Some U.S. lawmakers have also
recently called for President Donald Trump’s administration to block
American companies from buying CXMT’s memory chips over national and
economic security concerns.
CXMT is one of many Chinese companies the Pentagon says have links
to the Chinese military. Beijing has rejected such designations in
most cases.
CXMT's public share offering followed a $26.5 billion IPO by South
Korea’s SK Hynix on the Nasdaq earlier this month.
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AP journalist Didi Tang in Washington contributed to this report.
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