Chinese NAND flash maker Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp. (YMTC) is moving forward with an initial public offering. [Herald DB]
Chinese NAND flash maker Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp. (YMTC) is moving forward with an initial public offering. [Herald DB]

Chinese NAND flash chipmaker Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp. (YMTC) has launched a serious bid to list on China's stock market, buoyed by the record-breaking initial public offering of rival CXMT.

Bloomberg reported Wednesday that YMTC had completed its pre-listing guidance process, citing a report posted on the website of China's securities regulator, the China Securities Regulatory Commission. YMTC was found to have established the corporate governance, accounting infrastructure and internal control systems required of listed companies.

The completion comes roughly three months after YMTC registered for listing guidance with the Hubei Provincial Securities Regulatory Bureau on May 19. Founded in 2016, YMTC has no controlling shareholder; state-owned Hubei Changsheng Development Corp. holds the largest stake at 26.5 percent.

Before a formal listing can proceed, YMTC must still apply to a stock exchange, undergo an audit, pass review by a listing committee and register with the securities regulator. A listing on Shanghai's Star Market — China's technology-focused board — typically takes eight to 12 months from guidance registration to debut, putting YMTC's expected listing in the first half of next year.

According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, YMTC — which is now mass-producing 267-layer 3D NAND chips — captured a 14 percent share of the global NAND flash market in the second quarter, overtaking Japan's Kioxia to rank third worldwide for the first time, behind Samsung Electronics at 25 percent and SK Hynix at 22 percent.

YMTC's move follows the path blazed by DRAM maker CXMT, which raised 66.6 billion yuan ($9.88 billion) through its IPO late last month — the second-largest listing in mainland China's history. CXMT's share price surged immediately after its debut, briefly pushing its market capitalization past Tencent's to make it the most valuable listed company in China.

Both companies occupy a central place in Beijing's strategic priorities, as surging AI demand has tightened global memory chip supplies and driven industry-wide profit growth. Bloomberg noted that US semiconductor export controls on China have further elevated their strategic importance, fueling investor bets on Chinese semiconductor supply chain stocks and sending related shares sharply higher.


kate01@heraldcorp.com