Chinese chipmaker YMTC puts IPO on hold as weaker markets weigh, sources say

Chinese flash-memory chipmaker Yangtze Memory Technologies Co has put its Shanghai IPO on hold, according to a company memo and people with knowledge of the matter, as regulators tighten approval for share sales in a struggling stock market.

CCSH Corporation, the parent of Chinese flash-memory chipmaker YMTC, filed for its initial public offering (IPO) in August on Shanghai's Nasdaq-style STAR market, aiming to raise 33 billion yuan ($4.9 billion).

The company, one of China's chip champions that Beijing needs for technological self-reliance, was planning to kick off strategic share placement for the IPO in late October and early November.


That process has been put on hold due to "various factors", according to an internal note YMTC sent to its staff and seen by Reuters. It did not elaborate on the factors. The delay, which two of the people said could last several months, has not been reported previously.

The IPO delay could throw a wrench in the capacity expansion plans of China's largest maker of NAND chips, used to store data in phones, computers and data centres.

YMTC's fast growth since the advent of a biting, global memory chip shortage last year has allowed it to take Chinese market share from established NAND suppliers like South Korea's Samsung and SK Hynix.

YMTC will likely go public in the first half of 2027, subject to market conditions, the two people said, as tech stocks have been the main target of savage selloffs over the past few months.

As per the Shanghai stock exchange website, the company's IPO application is in the so-called "inquiry stage".

YMTC did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. The people declined to be named as the company's plan to delay the share offering was confidential.

The blue-chip CSI300 Index in China slumped 8.5% in October, its worst monthly performance in more than a decade. The STAR50 index of Shanghai-listed chip and AI firms tumbled 40% from its July peak through end of last month.

Overall, regulatory scrutiny of new listings in China has also tightened over the past few weeks as market conditions have weakened, according to three separate people with knowledge of the matter.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has given informal guidance to investment banks to slow down IPOs by AI and chip companies, another four people with knowledge of the matter said.

The CSRC did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

China's securities regulator has told investment banks to pause IPOs and has suspended large share sales by existing shareholders until markets recover, The Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing people with knowledge of the discussions.