ChangXin Memory Technologies, now operating as CXMT Corp, is gearing up for a debut on Shanghai’s STAR Market on July 27 that will mark Asia’s largest IPO of 2026. The company raised 57.92 billion yuan, roughly $8.6 billion, by selling shares at 8.66 yuan apiece.
The post-listing valuation lands at approximately 579 billion yuan, or about $85 billion. That puts CXMT in rarefied air, not just among Chinese chipmakers but globally, where it now ranks as the fourth-largest DRAM manufacturer.
The numbers behind the frenzy
Demand for CXMT’s institutional share allocation exceeded 500 times the number of shares offered.
The offering involves 6.69 billion shares, with the potential to expand to 7.69 billion through an overallotment option. Proceeds are tagged for upgrading DRAM production capacity, pushing forward on technological advancements, and funding R&D initiatives.
CXMT reported nearly $7.5 billion in revenue during the first quarter alone, representing a 700% increase year-over-year. The company also recently achieved profitability for the first time, crossing a milestone that had eluded it during its earlier years of heavy capital expenditure and capacity buildout.
CXMT signed a deal with ByteDance worth over $7 billion.
What this means for investors
There are real risks worth weighing. Memory chips are notoriously cyclical. DRAM prices have historically swung between glut and shortage with painful regularity.
The government ownership concentration also introduces a different flavor of risk. The 36.8% stake held by Hefei-linked investors means this isn’t purely a market-driven enterprise, and state-backed enterprises can find themselves subject to political directives that don’t always align with shareholder value maximization.