Key insights
- SK Hynix is planning a U.S. listing, receiving positive investor feedback due to strong demand for AI-driven memory semiconductors. This move aims to broaden its investor base, particularly attracting U.S. institutional investors. The company, a key supplier to Nvidia, expects continued favorable pricing for its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. While the listing details are pending SEC review, the plan signals confidence in its market position and future growth prospects, potentially influencing investor sentiment towards the semiconductor sector.
By Heekyong Yang
SEOUL, June 4 (Reuters) - SK Hynix told investors this week it received "tremendously positive" feedback on its proposed U.S. listing as the chipmaker benefits from strong demand for advanced memory semiconductors needed to run AI data centers, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
The South Korean memory-chipmaker made a confidential filing to list shares in the U.S. this year, which a source said in March could raise as much as $14 billion.
The fundraising follows a blistering 250% surge in its share price this year on an AI-driven rally. Its market value topped $1 trillion last week, making it the third company in Asia to hit the milestone after Taiwan’s TSMC and Samsung Electronics.
SK Hynix told some investors this week that it had "tremendously positive" feedback from stockholders to its U.S. listing plan given AI demand and the company’s competitive position in the memory-chip market, the person said.
The company, a major supplier to Nvidia, expects a U.S. listing to broaden its investor base, as some U.S.-based institutional investors invest in U.S.-listed stocks only due to internal mandates, the person said.
It also told investors the company could not provide specific updates on the listing process as a review by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission remains underway.
"SK Hynix plans to issue ADRs within 2026, but the details, including the size and timing, have not yet been decided," the company said in a statement in response to a Reuters request.
STRONG MEMORY MARKET
The increasing need for memory chips to power AI data centers has caused a severe supply shortage, impacting industries such as smartphones and computers, while top producers of memory chips such as Samsung and SK Hynix have benefited from surging chip prices.
SK Hynix, the source said, told investors it expects a favourable pricing environment for its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips to continue into next year, as discussions with customers are underway on future pricing of the advanced chips used in AI chipsets.
It also said strong demand for LPDDR memory, a type of low-power chip normally found in phones and tablets, from Nvidia for the U.S. company’s next-generation Vera Rubin AI platform could tighten supply across the broader memory market from 2027, according to the source.
To counter this, SK Hynix said it plans to adjust investments and product mix to maximise output, the source said.
But SK Hynix also told investors it would be difficult for it to say with certainty that it can fully satisfy all demand, with demand expected to far exceed supply, the source said.
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