Nexchip Passes HKEX Hearing, Set to Become Another A+H Listed Semiconductor Company
Claire Weston
Nexchip (晶合集成) cleared its HKEX listing hearing on June 8, leaving only pricing and the formal IPO before trading begins; if completed, mainland China's third-largest foundry will join the A+H semiconductor club — and the offering price will test how much international capital is willing to pay for mature-node wafer assets.
Who is Nexchip — and why does this matter?
Nexchip was founded in 2015 as a joint venture between Hefei's state-owned investment arm and Taiwan's Powerchip. It listed on Shanghai's STAR Market in 2023; Hefei SASAC remains the ultimate controller with roughly 39.71% of shares.
By 2025 revenue, Nexchip ranks as the world's ninth-largest foundry — on the mainland, only SMIC and Hua Hong stand ahead.
This means → it holds the "third seat" in mainland mature-node foundry. The Hong Kong listing gives international investors their first direct way to bet on that position.
What does it make — and how advanced is the tech?
Its main line runs 12-inch wafers at nodes from 150 nm down to 40 nm, serving display-driver ICs (the chips behind phone and TV screens), CMOS image sensors (camera cores), power-management ICs, and MCUs — microcontrollers, the "tiny brains" inside everyday electronics.
Nexchip has also developed a 28 nm logic-chip platform — a step from mature nodes toward more advanced ones.
In plain terms = it does not chase cutting-edge 3 nm or 5 nm. It digs deep in the "good enough, high volume, steady demand" mature market while probing finer geometries.
Is it profitable? Why are earnings falling?
Q1 2026 revenue came in at roughly RMB 2.9 billion, showing a recovery — but net profit fell about 63% year-on-year, clearly under pressure.
The main driver is fierce competition in mature nodes: foundries worldwide are expanding capacity, and price wars are squeezing margins.
This means → when the Hong Kong deal is priced, institutional investors face one question: how do you value a mature-node asset where revenue is growing but profit is shrinking?
How will Hong Kong price it? What does the A-share give us?
Nexchip's A-share market cap sits at roughly RMB 79.8 billion, share price about RMB 39.75, trailing P/E around 128.84×.
Standard practice for A+H listings is a 30%–40% discount to the A-share price to attract international institutional buyers.
In plain terms = at the usual discount, the Hong Kong offer price would land at roughly 60–70% of the A-share level. Whether that gap is attractive enough depends on how confident institutions are in the mature-node story.
Why go to Hong Kong now?
The company says the goal is to deepen its international strategy and widen funding channels — foundry is capital-heavy (equipment and capacity expansion burn cash continuously), and a single A-share platform is not enough.
Since the start of 2026, Hong Kong's IPO market has warmed noticeably: several new tech listings drew strong oversubscription, and sustained southbound capital flows have bolstered the market's absorptive capacity.
This reflects a deliberate "window" move: sentiment is positive, liquidity is ample, and the cost-benefit of listing right now is at its best.
What will the market watch over the long term?
The core question: can Nexchip expand beyond display-driver ICs into more high-value customers and lift the revenue share from advanced processes like 28 nm?
The global foundry landscape is being reshaped — AI-driven demand for compute chips is rising, yet competition in mature nodes is intensifying at the same time.
This means → how Hong Kong investors price Nexchip long-term comes down to one judgment: can this company move from "high volume, thin margin" to "high volume with pricing power"?
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.