[Beijing = E-Daily Lee Myeongcheol Correspondent] Changxin Memory Technology (CXMT; hereinafter “Changxin Memory”), China’s largest DRAM manufacturer, attracted significant attention as its stock price surged on its first day of trading on the Chinese stock market. Having immediately claimed the title of China’s largest listed company (by market capitalization) upon its listing, Changxin Memory is expected to use the funds raised to expand its production and research and development (R&D) operations.

According to local Chinese media outlets such as Securities News and MP Doctor on the 27th, Changxin Memory closed trading that day at 49.0 yuan (approximately 10,637 won), up 465.82% from its opening price.

Changxin Memory was listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board (STAR Market; Chinese name: Keqiuangban), often referred to as the “Chinese Nasdaq,” following the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s review and approval process. During the institutional bookbuilding for its initial public offering (IPO) on the 14th, strong demand from participants led to an offering price of 8.66 yuan (approximately 1,876 won), significantly exceeding market expectations (4.4 yuan).

Through this listing, Changxin Memory planned to issue up to 7.69 billion new shares and raise up to 29.5 billion yuan (approximately 6.4 trillion won). This marks the second-largest IPO on the mainland Chinese stock market since the Agricultural Bank of China’s $10 billion (approximately 14.7 trillion won) offering in 2010. It is the largest IPO ever for a Chinese technology company. Furthermore, due to strong demand during the bookbuilding process, the offering size increased to a maximum of 66.6 billion yuan (approximately 14.4 trillion won).

Following the listing, demand surged, causing its market capitalization to grow rapidly as well. Changxin Memory’s current market capitalization stands at 3.28 trillion yuan (approximately 712 trillion won). As of the previous trading day, the 24th, Agricultural Bank of China held the top spot on the Shanghai Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of 2.1262 trillion yuan (approximately 461 trillion won), but Changxin Memory immediately took the lead with a market cap 1 trillion yuan (approximately 217 trillion won) higher.

Chinese media reported that Changxin Memory surpassed Intel’s market capitalization (approximately 684 trillion won) immediately upon its listing. On that day, SamsungElectronics(005930)and SK hynix(000660) recorded market capitalizations of approximately 1,485 trillion won and 1,294 trillion won, respectively, with Changxin Memory closing in at roughly half that level.

Changxin Memory is the world’s fourth-largest DRAM manufacturer, following SamsungElectronics, SK hynix, and Micron. In China, it ranks first in both production volume and revenue and maintains cooperative relationships with local Chinese companies such as Alibaba, ByteDance, Tencent, Lenovo, Xiaomi, Transsion, Honor, Oppo, and Vivo.

Although it is now the largest player in China’s memory industry, Changxin Memory was a company that, as recently as 2024, recorded a net loss attributable to the parent company of 7.145 billion yuan (approximately 1.55 trillion won, according to its prospectus). This was because its business stagnated due to the aftermath of oversupply, despite Chinese government subsidy policies.

However, the industry’s performance turned around last year as a semiconductor “supercycle” (a period of exceptional prosperity) began, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI). In 2025, revenue reached 61.8 billion yuan (approximately 13.4 trillion won), a 155.6% increase from the previous year, and the company returned to profitability with a net profit of 1.88 billion yuan.

In its prospectus, the company projected first-half revenue and net profit for this year to reach up to 120 billion yuan (approximately 26 trillion won) and 75 billion yuan (approximately 16.3 trillion won), respectively. It anticipates that these figures will already surpass last year’s levels within just the first half of the year.

Changxin Memory upgraded its products by completing the transition from its self-developed Double Data Rate (DDR) 4 in 2019 to DDR5 in 2024, and was able to increase profits by securing major Chinese companies as customers.

This IPO is just the beginning. The company planned to invest 7.5 billion yuan (approximately 1.63 trillion won) in upgrading the technology of its mass-production lines for memory wafers, 13 billion yuan (approximately 2.82 trillion won) in advancing DRAM technology, and 9 billion yuan (approximately 1.95 trillion won) in R&D for next-generation DRAM leading-edge technology. However, as the public offering amount more than doubled due to strong demand during the bookbuilding process, the company now has additional financial flexibility.

Zhu Yiming, Chairman of Changxin Memory, stated at a recent IPO roadshow hosted by Guochangban, “Listing on the capital market marks a new starting point and also entails new responsibilities.” He added, “Through these fundraising projects, we will further strengthen our R&D capabilities and industrialization levels, leverage our leading role to promote the coordinated development of the industrial chain, and contribute to building China’s integrated circuit industry ecosystem.”

Countless companies in China experience cycles of rise and fall. The more you know, the more investment opportunities you may discover. The Chinese word for “company” is “gongsi” (公司). Through the “Chai Gong” (China + Gongsi) segment, we cover the activities of various Chinese and Korean companies operating in China.