<div id="readability-page-1">A number of mainland-based suppliers of memory chips and storage solutions are pursuing share listings in Hong Kong, signalling a strategic change in how the sector aims to fuel its global ambitions, according to analysts. The most watched firm is Shanghai-based Montage Technology, a designer of high-speed interconnect chips for data centres, which is taking orders from institutional investors and is set to debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday. Montage, which listed in Shanghai in 2019, expected to raise as much as HK$7 billion (US$896 million) from its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO), partly to “strengthen [its] global leadership and seize opportunities in the field of cloud computing and AI infrastructure”, according to its prospectus. It was the world’s largest memory interconnect chip supplier in 2024, with 38.6 per cent of the market, according to data from Frost &amp; Sullivan. The company planned to price its offering at the top of its range at HK$106.89 while halting institutional orders a day earlier than planned amid abundant interest, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. Montage’s dual-listing approach follows that of GigaDevice Semiconductor, which debuted in Hong Kong last month, after listing in Shanghai a decade ago. The expansion to the Hong Kong capital market supported a “long-term global growth strategy”, GigaDevice said. In January, at least three other firms making memory products submitted applications for Hong Kong listings, namely Hosin Global Electronics, XTX Technology and Beijing XSKY Technology. XTX, which develops code storage flash memories, withdrew its IPO application for an offering on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s ChiNext board in 2023. The wave of memory firms hoping to offer Hong Kong shares “signals a strategic move in how the sector fuels its global ambitions”, said MS Hwang, research director at Counterpoint Research. He noted that the five firms mentioned do not fabricate memory cells, the fundamental building blocks of computer memory, which can can be packaged into memory products. “Having achieved sustainable scale and technical viability, these suppliers are possibly growing from domestic self-sufficiency to global exports amid a supply crunch,” he added.  Mainland companies that do build memory cells, such as ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp (YMTC), “may opt for domestic exchanges to navigate US regulatory scrutiny and insufficient track records in profit”, Hwang said. CXMT, China’s largest dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) maker, plans to raise 29.5 billion yuan (US$4.3 billion) from an IPO on Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style Star Market. YMTC was considering a mainland IPO as early as this year with a potential valuation between 200 billion yuan and 300 billion yuan, Bloomberg reported in October. YMTC affiliate XMC resumed its Shanghai IPO application in November. The global memory industry has entered a so-called super cycle of price hikes. On Monday, market research firm TrendForce raised its price forecast for memory chips for the first quarter because “persistent AI and data centre demands” were “further worsening the global memory supply and demand imbalance”. It now expected conventional DRAM contract prices to jump by between 90 per cent and 95 per cent, up from the previous projection of 55 per cent to 60 per cent. Similarly, it expected NAND flash contract prices to rise between 55 per cent and 60 per cent, up from an earlier projection of 33 per cent to 38 per cent. “The longevity of this memory cycle remains the industry’s looming question,” Counterpoint’s Hwang said, adding that the price hikes would “far exceed expectations through 2026, with supply and demand reaching equilibrium by 2027”.</div>

159546

FTXL

512480

562820

159325

159995

512760

SOXL

<p>Mainland memory chip suppliers are pursuing listings in Hong Kong to support their global ambitions. Montage Technology, a leading firm, is set to debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange, aiming to raise up to HK$7 billion from its IPO. This trend follows GigaDevice Semiconductor's recent listing and reflects a strategic shift in the sector. Analysts note that these firms are moving towards global exports amid a supply crunch, while companies like CXMT and YMTC may opt for domestic listings due to regulatory concerns. The global memory industry is experiencing significant price hikes driven by AI and data center demands.</p>

Mainland memory firms eye Hong Kong for funds to fuel ‘global ambitions’