Chipmaker CXMT vaults to top of China’s valuation with 470% Shanghai debut surge
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The explosive debut makes CXMT the most valuable company listed in China, overtaking Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- CXMT's shares surged nearly 470% on their Shanghai debut, making it China's most valuable listed company with a market capitalisation of 3.3 trillion yuan.
- The chipmaker raised 57.92 billion yuan in its IPO, potentially increasing to 66.61 billion yuan with full over-allotment.
- Only 6.73% of shares are freely tradable, causing potential price volatility amid ongoing market liquidity concerns.
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SINGAPORE/SHANGHAI – Shares of CXMT Corp surged nearly 470 per cent at their Shanghai debut on July 27 after Asia’s biggest IPO tin 2026, catapulting the chipmaker to the top of China’s stock market by valuation despite a recent selloff in global tech stocks.
The stock began trading at 49.50 yuan compared with their sale price of 8.66 yuan per share.
The rally in the first few minutes lifted CXMT’s market capitalisation to 3.3 trillion yuan (S$628.24 billion), sharply up from US$85.5 billion (S$110.24 billion) during the initial public offering process.
The shares dipped to 38.11 yuan momentarily before recovering sharply and were trading at 49.51 yuan by 0236 GMT (10.36am Singapore time).
The stock closed at 49 yuan, after reaching an intraday high of 55.03 yuan.
Around 141.1 billion yuan worth of CXMT shares were traded in Shanghai on July 27, making it the first A-share stock to exceed 100 billion yuan turnover in a day, according to local media reports.
The explosive debut makes CXMT the most valuable company listed in China, overtaking Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the market’s previous heavyweight.
CXMT’s first-day rally easily outstripped the more-than-doubling recorded by China Resources New Energy after its US$3.6 billion IPO in China earlier in July.
The debut will give investors a gauge of how much they are willing to pay for a marquee Chinese chip firm, as local markets navigate volatility following an artificial intelligence-led sell-off, and money rotates between high-growth technology names and safer sectors.
CXMT, formally ChangXin Memory Technologies, raised 57.92 billion yuan and the proceeds could rise to 66.61 billion yuan if an over-allotment option is fully used.
At the IPO price, CXMT was valued at about 579 billion yuan before the possible exercise of the over-allotment option, making it one of China’s largest listed semiconductor companies.
Only 6.73 per cent of CXMT’s enlarged share capital will be freely tradable at listing, as most shares are locked up.
The small initial float could magnify price swings and attract strong turnover.
HSBC Qianhai Securities said in a note last week that the offering could drain liquidity from the wider Chinese market before and on its debut, though past technology listings suggested a rebound could follow the next trading day. REUTERS
