China's Memory Giant YMTC Prepares for IPO, Expected in First Half of Next Year

Following the successful initial public offering (IPO) of ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), China's NAND flash memory maker Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp (YMTC) is also accelerating its push to list on the Chinese stock market.

According to a report published on the website of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), YMTC has completed its pre-listing guidance procedures, demonstrating that it possesses the corporate governance, accounting foundation, and internal control systems required of a listed company, Bloomberg News reported on the 19th local time.

This guidance was completed three months after YMTC registered its pre-listing guidance with the Hubei Securities Regulatory Bureau on May 19.

Founded in 2016, YMTC has no controlling shareholder, with the state-owned enterprise Hubei Changsheng Development Co. acting as its largest shareholder with a 26.5% stake.

Before achieving an official listing, several procedures remain, including securities exchange applications, audits, listings committee reviews, and registration with the CSRC.

Considering that listings on China's STAR Market (Shanghai Stock Exchange's sci-tech innovation board) typically take 8 to 12 months from guidance registration to listing, YMTC's market debut is expected in the first half of next year.

According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, YMTC, which is in the mass production stage of 276-layer 3D NAND, captured a 14% global NAND flash market share in the second quarter. This surpassed Japan's Kioxia and pushed YMTC into third place globally for the first time, following Samsung Electronics at 25% and SK Hynix at 22%.

YMTC's move mirrors the earlier success achieved by DRAM maker CXMT.

CXMT raised 66.6 billion yuan (approximately 13.9 trillion won) late last month, recording the second-largest IPO in mainland China's history.

Immediately following its listing, a surge in its stock price briefly propelled it past Tencent to become the publicly traded company with the largest market capitalization in China.

Amid a global memory supply crunch driven by artificial intelligence (AI) demand and a sharp surge in industry-wide profitability, both companies occupy core positions in the strategic priorities of the Chinese authorities.

Bloomberg noted that U.S. semiconductor export controls against China have further heightened their strategic importance, fueling investor bets on the Chinese semiconductor supply chain and driving a surge in related stocks.

(Photo: Capture from YMTC website, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.