What Good Is Sheer Volume?... Even with 450 Trillion Won Poured In, Samsung and SK Hynix Remain Unmatched [Chip Talk]

CXMT and YMTC Near Shanghai STAR Market Listing
Targeting the 450 Trillion Won AI Data Center Boom
High-Performance Memory Technology Gap in the Spotlight
"Premium Strength of Samsung and SK hynix Set to Shine"

The two leading players symbolizing China's semiconductor ambitions, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC), are both on the verge of launching their initial public offerings (IPOs). With China ramping up its large-scale capital offensive, there is growing market attention on whether this could reshape the global memory market, which has long been dominated by the so-called "Big 3." However, some in the industry believe that the IPOs of these Chinese companies could actually serve as an opportunity to highlight the overwhelming technological competitiveness and market dominance of Korean semiconductor firms such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.

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China’s Semiconductor Giants Ride the 450 Trillion Won AI Datacenter Boom

According to the semiconductor industry and foreign media reports as of June 14, the Chinese government has announced a massive localization plan to invest approximately 2 trillion yuan (about 450 trillion won) over the next five years to build artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and raise the domestic supply rate of AI semiconductors to over 80%. As the United States has blocked exports of high-performance AI accelerators such as those from Nvidia to China, the country is effectively declaring, "If you won’t supply us, we’ll build it ourselves."

Among these efforts, CXMT and YMTC are considered the core engines of China’s domestic infrastructure push. CXMT, often called the pride of China’s DRAM sector, has passed the preliminary review for listing on the STAR Market of the Shanghai Stock Exchange and is expected to launch its IPO and new listing as early as the end of this month or early July. The company aims to raise 29.5 billion yuan (about 6.7 trillion won) through this offering.

Of the funds raised, 13 billion yuan (about 2.9 trillion won) will be allocated to advanced process conversion, while 9 billion yuan (about 2 trillion won) is planned for research and development (R&D) of DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM). As of the first quarter of this year, CXMT holds about an 8% share of the global DRAM market, ranking fourth worldwide. Thanks to rising memory prices and large-scale capacity expansion, the company is projected to achieve explosive growth this year, with sales of $39 billion (a 357% increase year-on-year) and operating profit of $24.9 billion (up 64%).

YMTC, a powerhouse in 3D NAND flash, officially submitted a listing guidance application to the Hubei Securities Regulatory Bureau in May and is now close to filing its STAR Market listing application. Currently operating its Wuhan Fab 1 and 2 at full capacity, YMTC plans to invest all IPO proceeds in expanding the Wuhan "Fab 2B," aiming to increase production capacity (CAPA) by approximately 67% compared to last year.

Rapid Pursuit of the Memory Big 3’s Technological Lead

Both companies are also rapidly narrowing the technology gap with the "Big 3" in memory. For CXMT, last year’s DDR5 yield reportedly exceeded 80%, and its mass-produced low-power DRAM, LPDDR5X, is already being supplied to major Chinese device manufacturers such as Xiaomi.

YMTC recently drew industry attention at Asia’s largest IT trade show, Computex 2026, by unveiling its proprietary "Xtacking"-based 294-layer 3D TLC product. Xtacking is YMTC's manufacturing process that produces the "cell wafer" (for data storage) and the "circuit wafer" (for control) separately and then sandwiches them together. This approach is said to offer much higher data transfer speeds and greater spatial efficiency than conventional methods. Notably, the number of layers is now in single digits compared to the 286-layer NAND produced by Samsung Electronics, a significant closing of the gap.

Minhee Kang, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, commented, "In terms of wafer production capacity alone, China could produce more than 1 million Huawei Ascend chips per year, but due to HBM supply constraints, actual production is limited to less than 300,000 units. If CXMT begins mass production of HBM, it could be a turning point that alleviates the memory bottleneck in China’s AI accelerator supply chain." It has also been reported that Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are seeking to adopt YMTC’s Xtacking-based hybrid bonding patents, which is seen as evidence that YMTC’s technology is approaching global standards.

"An Uncrossable Wall of High Performance"... Why Chinese IPOs Could Benefit Korean Semiconductors

Despite these aggressive moves by China’s leading memory companies, experts unanimously agree that an overwhelming technological gap remains between them and Korean firms. For example, the DDR5 and LPDDR5X chips being mass-produced by CXMT, as well as the HBM3 (fourth generation) in the sample supply stage, are all based on legacy (older generation) processes. This means there are significant differences in die competitiveness, speed, and power efficiency compared to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.

Additionally, as Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and Micron—the memory "Big 3"—shift up to 40% of their advanced wafer capacity to HBM production lines, global supply of standard DRAM is expected to remain extremely tight through the end of the year. Even if legacy product consumption increases in China due to the push for self-sufficiency, the premium market's supply shortage rally is unlikely to subside.

Huejun Yoo, professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), remarked, "Chinese companies often exaggerate their technological capabilities, but a closer look shows they are still behind us in mass production and core technologies. The AI market has become too large for the semiconductor supercycle to peak simply due to the influx of Chinese memory supply."

Dongwon Kim, head of research at KB Securities, commented, "The listing of China’s CXMT could stoke concerns about intensified competition, but given the technological gap and differences in customer structure, it seems virtually impossible for CXMT to disrupt the high-performance server DRAM market for HBM, DDR5, and LPDDR5. While the CXMT listing may be a competitive variable for Taiwanese DRAM companies, in the high-performance AI memory market, it will only serve to further highlight Samsung Electronics’ differentiated technology, customer base, and potential for structural profit improvement, making it a catalyst for revaluing Samsung Electronics."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.