Nexchip Lists in Hong Kong, Raising $890M to Test Chip Stock Demand
N.R. Finch
Nexchip Semiconductor, China's third-largest pure-play foundry, begins trading in Hong Kong on Friday after pricing its IPO at the top of the range to raise $890 million — one of the ten biggest Hong Kong listings this year and a direct test of how much demand remains for Chinese chip stocks.
What are the key numbers?
Nexchip sold 216.2 million shares at HK$32.30 each, the ceiling of its indicative range.
The price implies a ~57% discount to the company's A-share close of RMB 65.21 on Thursday — a steep haircut, yet the issuer still chose to price at the top.
This means → Nexchip accepted a large discount to lock in the maximum raise, signaling that Hong Kong buyers showed enough demand at that level.
What kind of company is Nexchip?
Founded in 2015 as a joint venture between Hefei government-backed investors and Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., headquartered in Hefei.
By revenue it is China's third-largest pure-play foundry, behind SMIC and Hua Hong Semiconductor, and ninth globally.
It focuses on mature-node manufacturing — 150 nm down to 40 nm — making chips for third-party designers rather than designing its own.
In plain terms = Nexchip does not chase the cutting edge; it makes the high-volume chips found in display drivers, power management ICs, and sensors.
How will the proceeds be spent?
More than half goes to R&D and optimization of a next-generation 22 nm platform — the company's push toward more advanced nodes.
Roughly a quarter is earmarked for AI-enabled R&D and manufacturing upgrades.
Nexchip also plans to set up an R&D and sales center in Hong Kong to expand its overseas footprint.
What does this listing tell us about the Hong Kong IPO market?
Hong Kong equity offerings have already topped $30 billion this year, approaching the four-year high of $36 billion for all of 2025.
Nexchip is hitting the market alongside high-profile names such as optical-module maker Innolight and Baidu's AI-chip subsidiary Kunlunxin.
This means → the market is digesting multiple large Chinese tech IPOs at once; Nexchip's first-day performance will directly test how much buying capacity is left for chip stocks.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.