People walk past the headquarters of ChangXin Memory Technologies in Hefei, Anhui province on July 16, 2026. — AFP pic Summary On July 27, China's leading memory chipmaker, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), saw its market debut in Shanghai surge by 470%, momentarily surpassing ICBC as the mainland's most valuable company. The rise underscores the booming demand for advanced memory chips critical for AI server infrastructure amidst a global shortage. CXMT, aiming to compete with industry leaders like Samsung and Micron, raised a record 66.6 billion yuan in a share sale as part of China's strategy to boost domestic tech capabilities. The company, founded in 2016 and the world's fourth-largest DRAM chipmaker, is also being considered by Apple for its DRAM chip needs. First Published: Monday, 27 Jul 2026 10:54 AM MYT SHANGHAI, July 27 — China’s leading memory chipmaker jumped 470 per cent in its market debut in Shanghai on Monday, briefly surpassing megabank ICBC as the mainland’s most valuable company.The global race to build data centres that can train and run artificial intelligence technology has fuelled a major memory chip shortage and caused business to boom for the companies that produce them.ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) wants to rival South Korean giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, and US chipmaker Micron.The Anhui-based company had raised 66.6 billion yuan (RM39 billion billion) in a blockbuster share sale, Bloomberg News reported, as China increasingly counts on homegrown hardware to boost its position in the AI race.It was China’s biggest ever mainland tech share sale – beating the 46.3 billion yuan raised by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) in 2020.On Monday, CXMT shares soared on Shanghai’s tech-focused STAR Market, taking its market capitalisation as high as 3.3 trillion yuan.Advanced memory chips are in huge global demand as key components in AI servers.That has sent profits skyrocketing for producers and created a major shortage of the less flashy DRAM memory chips used in laptops, phones and other electronics, pushing up prices.US giant Apple, feeling the pinch of shortages, is reportedly testing CXMT’s DRAM chips for use in its products.CXMT is on the Pentagon’s list of Chinese companies with alleged military ties, although that does not prohibit US firms from doing deals with them.Founded in 2016, CXMT is the world’s fourth-largest DRAM chipmaker, with nearly eight per cent market share, behind Samsung, SK hynix and Micron. — AFP