ChangXin Memory Technologies, known as CXMT and China's leading memory chipmaker, soared on its first day of trading on the STAR Market of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Its shares jumped from an IPO price of 8.66 yuan all the way to 54.65 yuan, a gain of 531 percent. At midday the company was worth about 3.66 trillion yuan, roughly 541 billion US dollars, overtaking Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to become the most valuable listed company on China's A-share market.
A debut-day surge
Even by the standards of a semiconductor sector that has run hot in recent years, the performance was striking. On its intraday market value, CXMT not only topped the A-share market but also passed the roughly 465.6 billion US dollar market capitalization of the American chipmaker Intel, based on its July 24 closing price. A Chinese memory-chip firm surpassing a long-established international giant on its very first day is a talking point in itself.
The symbolism of passing Intel
For many investors the moment carries clear symbolism. Memory chips have long been one of the parts of China's semiconductor industry most dependent on imports, and as a flagship of domestic memory, CXMT's lofty valuation is read as a vote of confidence in China's ability to make its own chips. It also reflects how eagerly capital is chasing the theme of self-reliant semiconductors amid global supply-chain and technology competition.
A direct comparison of market values, however, deserves caution. A sky-high valuation on a first trading day reflects investors' expectations of future growth more than current revenue and profit. Against a company as large and mature as Intel, CXMT still has some distance to travel in terms of the scale of its revenue and its share of the global market.
The test after the euphoria
The memory-chip business is markedly cyclical, with prices swinging on supply and demand, and it faces fierce competition from international players such as Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron. A valuation pushed this high on day one also means higher expectations. Whether CXMT can keep delivering on technology iteration, yield improvement and cost control will decide whether that valuation can hold.
Either way, CXMT's arrival leaves a vivid marker for both China's capital markets and its semiconductor industry. As self-reliance becomes a shared goal, domestic chip firms are drawing unprecedented attention and funding, and the real test is only just beginning.
