After soaring 466 per cent in its Shanghai trading debut on Monday, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) became the most valuable company on mainland China’s stock market – the first semiconductor firm to hold the top spot in the market’s 35-year history.The state-backed maker of memory chips saw its market capitalisation surpass 4 trillion yuan (US$592 billion) on Friday amid a broader chip stock surge. It first ascended to the top of the list on Monday, ending its first trading day with a value of 3.28 trillion yuan after hitting 3.68 trillion yuan amid unprecedented turnover during the day.CXMT’s top ranking ends two decades of market-cap dominance by state-owned energy conglomerates, lenders and traditional consumer brands on China’s onshore stock market.Below are some of the defining corporate giants that have held the top spot among mainland-listed, yuan-denominated stocks, also known as A shares.Industrial and Commercial Bank of ChinaThe state-controlled commercial lender had the largest onshore market capitalisation in 2006, from 2015 to 2019, and again in 2024.
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TL;DRAI
CXMT surged 466% on Shanghai IPO to become China's most valued company ($592B)—first semiconductor firm leading mainland market in 35 years. The shift signals China's pivot toward chip self-sufficiency and accelerating domestic semiconductor investment amid geopolitical tensions.
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