Changxin Memory Technologies Inc. plans to file for a domestic initial public offering this year that could value the Chinese chipmaker north of $14.5 billion, a milestone debut that could help galvanize the country’s technology aspirations.
(Bloomberg) — Changxin Memory Technologies Inc. plans to file for a domestic initial public offering this year that could value the Chinese chipmaker north of $14.5 billion, a milestone debut that could help galvanize the country’s technology aspirations.
The memory chip maker known as CXMT aims to list on Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style STAR board at a valuation of no less than 100 billion yuan ($14.5 billion), according to people familiar with the matter. It’s in the process of picking underwriters and the size of the IPO hasn’t been finalized, said the people, asking not to be named discussing private matters.
CXMT is one of a handful of major Chinese firms that embody Beijing’s ambitions to match the US technologically, particularly in the semiconductors that drive most advances from AI to self-driving cars. It’s one of the largest Chinese makers of DRAM storage chips, an industry dominated by Samsung Electronics Co., SK Hynix Inc. and Micron Technology Inc. but that could serve as a launchpad for more advanced semiconductor development down the road.
It’s unclear how investors will gauge a CXMT IPO, given the Biden administration is orchestrating a campaign to block Chinese firms’ access to cutting-edge technologies from design software to manufacturing equipment. The US has wielded sanctions successfully in the past, crippling fledgling chipmaker Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co. — Changxin’s peer — and Huawei Technologies Co.’s smartphone business.
Washington in December blacklisted Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., a state-backed flash memory maker in Wuhan, effectively capping China’s capabilities in advanced 3D NAND chips. YMTC had been in talks to supply chips to Apple Inc. for the iPhone before that development.
CXMT’s targets are preliminary and could shift depending on market fluctuations. A 100-billion-yuan price tag would value the six-year-old firm at around 40% of top Chinese chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., which made more than $7 billion in revenue last year.
A CXMT representative declined to comment on IPO plans and said the company is currently focused on research and its core business.
CXMT makes chips that temporarily store data on phones, computers and servers for central processing units to compute. It operates a 12-inch wafer fab in its home city of Hefei in central Anhui province, according to its website. Its state-backed parent, Innotron Memory Co., boasts a number of high-profile backers including the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund Ltd. Phase 2, the government’s signature industry investment vehicle. And memory chip maker GigaDevice Semiconductor Inc. and a fund indirectly controlled by billionaire Xiaomi Corp. founder Lei Jun hold shares in Innotron, according to Tianyancha, a company registration information provider.
Domestic investors have shown enthusiasm for perceived beneficiaries of Beijing’s efforts to cultivate a world-class chip industry and shake off a dependency on American products. President Xi Jinping recently ordered forceful measures to support the development of high-end manufacturing, a clear message China is preparing to decouple from the US.
The need to galvanize the chip industry is growing more urgent as Washington slaps ever-tighter restrictions on the Asian nation. The US is increasingly limiting the kind of chip-making gear American companies can ship to China, while enlisting allies so that key suppliers like the Netherlands’ ASML Holding NV and Japan’s Nikon Corp. join its technology blockade.
Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit, another Chinese DRAM maker in southeast China’s Quanzhou, was blacklisted by Washington in 2018 and has since struggled to mass produce chips from its $6 billion plant due to a shortage of foreign technology.
Regulators this month began a cybersecurity review of Micron to “ensure the integrity” of its information infrastructure and maintain national security. But that move was regarded as a countermeasure against Washington.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.