CXMT's 466% listing pop makes it China's most valuable firm

Singapore|Shanghai: Shares of CXMT Corp soared 466% on their Shanghai trading debut on Monday following Asia's biggest IPO this year, catapulting the chipmaker to the top of China's stock market by valuation despite a recent selloff in global tech stocks.

As US curbs intensify competition in the global semiconductor race, CXMT has emerged as a key pillar of Beijing's drive to build a self-sufficient chip industry and close the gap in strategic technologies such as artificial intelligence.

The stock ended at 49 yuan, compared to its sale price of 8.66 yuan per share, after reaching an intraday high of 55.03 yuan. The rally lifted CXMT's market capitalisation to 3.3 trillion yuan ($487.73 billion), sharply up from $85.5 billion during the IPO process.

The explosive debut crowned CXMT as China's most valuable listed company, overtaking banking giant Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, long the market's heavyweight.

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Top Chinese Chip companies in demand
The strong debut provides a gauge of how much investors are willing to pay for a marquee Chinese chip firm, as local markets navigate volatility following an AI-led selloff.

Around 141.1 billion yuan worth of CXMT shares were traded in Shanghai on Monday, becoming the first A-share stock to exceed 100 billion yuan turnover in a day, according to local media reports.

"Investor appetite is largely being driven by providing Chinese investors a way to meaningfully get exposure to the current memory supercycle," said Jing Jie Yu, equity analyst at Morningstar.