South Korean memory chip maker SK Hynix (000660.KS) announced on Wednesday its plan to raise up to $29.4 billion through a U.S. stock market listing. The company is a key supplier of high-bandwidth memory chips utilised in artificial intelligence (AI) systems for clients like Nvidia and Google. As the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker, it is now valued at approximately $1.2 trillion. SK Hynix aims to capitalise on strong investor appetite for AI stocks with this strategic move, which could see it become one of the largest listings globally, highlighting significant investment flow into the burgeoning AI infrastructure market.
If completed at its top end, the deal would rank as the second-biggest share sale globally, following SpaceX’s record $85.7 billion offering earlier this month. It would also surpass significant historical initial public offerings, including Saudi Aramco’s $25.6 billion in 2019 and Alibaba’s similar-sized deal in 2014. This planned listing underscores the persistent global interest in AI-focused equities, even amidst increased volatility in U.S. tech and semiconductor markets. SK Hynix’s shares have quadrupled this year, outperforming rivals Samsung Electronics and Micron, recently making it South Korea’s most valuable company.
Proceeds from the listing of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) are earmarked for the construction of new chip factories in South Korea and the acquisition of advanced chipmaking equipment, such as extreme ultraviolet scanners from Dutch firm ASML. Analysts view the U.S. listing as beneficial; Ryu Young-ho, a senior analyst at NH Investment & Securities, noted that trading on Nasdaq alongside rival Micron provides SK Hynix an opportunity for a re-rating in the U.S. market, potentially impacting its Korea-listed shares. CLSA Senior Analyst Sanjeev Rana added that expectations for a U.S. listing, combined with robust demand for high-end memory in AI data centres, have already driven the stock’s rally.
