SK Hynix dethrones Samsung Electronics as South Korea's most valuable company

The market value of South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix briefly topped that of peer Samsung Electronics on Monday to make it the country's most valuable ‌firm.

Shares ⁠of SK ⁠Hynix, now the world's most valuable ​memory chipmaker, traded up 5.7% to bring the ​company's market capitalisation to 2,082.5 trillion won ($1.35 trillion) as of 0347 ​GMT, compared with gains ⁠of 0.4% ‌in Samsung Electronics to ​2081.3 ​trillion won, excluding preferred shares.

Samsung ⁠Electronics had held the top spot ​since 2000.


South Korean chipmakers have posted record profits, benefiting from the rush to build AI data centres by U.S. tech giants that have boosted demand for memory ‌chips, constrained supply and driven up prices.

SK Hynix shares ​have risen ​more than ⁠340% this year alone, outperforming Samsung's 200% jump.

In May, SK Hynix joined rivals Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology in topping $1 trillion in market value for the first time, driven by the AI rally.