SEOUL – South Korea’s SK Hynix said on June 24 it plans to raise up to US$29.4 billion (S$38.2 billion) through a US stock market listing in what would be among the biggest listings globally, as the Nvidia supplier seeks to capitalise on strong investor appetite for AI stocks.
If completed at the top end, the deal would be the second-biggest share sale after a record US$85.7 billion initial public offering by SpaceX earlier in June, surpassing Saudi Aramco’s US$25.6 billion IPO in 2019 and Alibaba’s similar-sized offering in 2014.
The planned listing reflects strong global appetite for AI-linked equities, even as volatility increases across US tech and semiconductor markets.
It comes weeks after record-breaking equity issuance elsewhere in the sector, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX, and ahead of expected IPOs from AI-focused companies including Anthropic and OpenAI later in 2026.
The world’s largest tech companies are tapping debt markets and raising equity to fund a costly expansion of AI infrastructure. Earlier in June, Google-parent Alphabet said it was looking to raise US$80 billion in equity offerings.
“The most attractive benefit for investors is that SK Hynix will trade on Nasdaq alongside rival Micron, giving the company an opportunity to be re-rated in the US market,” said Ryu Young-ho, a senior analyst at NH Investment & Securities.
“That could also be reflected in its Korea-listed shares as investors increasingly link the two valuations.”
The memory chipmaker, now valued at about US$1.2 trillion, has been one of the clearest beneficiaries of the AI boom. Its shares have quadrupled so far in 2026, outperforming rivals Samsung Electronics and US-based Micron.
The company is a key supplier of high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI systems by customers such as Nvidia and Google, and this week overtook Samsung to become South Korea’s most valuable company.
CLSA Senior Analyst Sanjeev Rana said expectations for a US listing have already helped drive the stock’s rally, alongside strong demand for high-end memory used in AI data centres.
“If they can get at least a valuation multiple similar to Micron, for example, then the local shares also need to reflect that, so that kind of expectation is there,” Rana said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if this rally continues.”
Its blistering share price rally marks a dramatic reversal of fortunes for a chipmaker that two decades ago nearly collapsed under debt and also helped the size of the share sale increase sharply from an initial plan which a source said in March could raise as much as US$14 billion.
SK Hynix said the proceeds from the listing of American Depositary Receipts will be used to build chip factories in South Korea and purchase chip making equipment such as an extreme ultraviolet scanner made by Dutch equipment maker ASML, shares of which rose 1.1 per cent on June 24.
The world’s second-largest memory chipmaker plans to issue up to 17.79 million new shares, worth 45.45 trillion won ($38.2 billion), in the ADR listing on Nasdaq.
Ten ADRs will represent one common share. Pricing will be finalised after bookbuilding, although the initial range is based on June 23’s closing price of 2.55 million won.
“The ADR listing should not materially change our view on SK Hynix or the memory sector,” said Gary Tan, a Singapore-based portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments.
“The headline capital raise appears large but implies only limited dilution and remains modest relative to its mid-term capex plans.”
BofA Securities, Citigroup Global Markets, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Securities are managing the offering, SK Hynix said. REUTERS
Source : https://www.straitstimes.com/business/sk-hynix-targets-38b-us-listing-as-ai-demand-surges
