China's Six Major Brokerages Join Forces to Support CXMT's IPO: Shift from 'Fee-Based' to 'Assetization'

China's leading memory chip company, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), has officially initiated its IPO process on the STAR Market, aiming to raise up to 29.5 billion yuan (approximately $4.1 billion). This is not only the largest IPO on the A-share market since 2026 but also the second-largest fundraising case in STAR Market history, second only to SMIC. According to the official announcement, CXMT will officially open online and offline subscriptions on July 16, with the stock code '688825'.

The underwriting syndicate is jointly led by China International Capital Corporation (CICC) and CITIC Construction Investment as co-lead underwriters and bookrunners, with Guotai Junan, Huatai United, China Merchants Securities, and Guoyuan Securities serving as co-lead underwriters.

Notably, the total underwriting fee rate for this IPO is only about 0.6%, amounting to approximately 184 million yuan, significantly lower than industry averages and prior market expectations. This reflects a fundamental shift in the service model of brokerages for top-tier tech IPOs—from traditional 'channel fee collection' to 'deep integration and assetization'.

In fact, all six participating institutions indirectly hold shares in CXMT through industrial funds or investment platforms. China Merchants Securities, for instance, holds nearly 0.84% of the company. For these brokerages, IPO underwriting fees represent only short-term gains; the real value lies in post-listing equity appreciation and future full-chain business opportunities.

As China's largest and the world's fourth-largest DRAM manufacturer, CXMT has seen explosive growth driven by surging AI computing demand. In the first quarter of 2024, the company achieved revenue of 50.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 719.13%, and turned profitable with a net profit of 24.762 billion yuan. The company projects that its revenue could exceed 110 billion yuan in the first half of 2026.

CXMT's shareholder structure demonstrates strong industrial synergy. In addition to deep involvement from Hefei state capital and the National IC Fund Phase II, major industry players such as Alibaba, Tencent, Xiaomi, and Midea are also listed as shareholders. To demonstrate long-term confidence, Chairman Zhu Yiming has committed to an 'ultra-long share lock-up': no share transfers during the first ten years post-IPO, with strict减持 restrictions in the following decade.

The 29.5 billion yuan raised will primarily fund technological upgrades of memory wafer manufacturing lines, DRAM R&D, and advanced technology research. Market analysts believe CXMT's successful IPO will usher in a new cycle of semiconductor capital expenditure in China, with the company targeting a 17% global market share by 2028.