Chinese Memory-Chip Maker CXMT Surges About 500 Percent in Trading Debut

Shares of ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), a Chinese maker of memory chips, rose almost 500 percent on their first day of trading, in what the Financial Times described as the largest initial public offering on the mainland since 2010. The newspaper tied the demand to a surge in orders for the memory semiconductors used in artificial-intelligence computing. The stock closed about 466 percent above its offering price of 8.66 yuan, at roughly 49 yuan, lifting the company's market value to about 3.3 trillion yuan. That figure briefly placed CXMT above Industrial and Commercial Bank of China as the most valuable company listed on a mainland exchange. The offering itself raised 57.92 billion yuan, about $8.6 billion.

The Japan Times reported that memory chips, once a low-margin commodity product, have become one of the world's most sought-after components as companies build out data centers. The same report noted that the rise of Chinese producers such as CXMT is drawing closer scrutiny from the United States, which has restricted China's access to advanced chip technology.

The listing gives China a well-funded domestic memory-chip producer at a moment when Washington is trying to slow the country's semiconductor progress.