SK Hynix may raise up to $10 billion from US listing to fund AI Chip expansion, Korea Economic Daily says

SK Hynix may raise up to $10 billion from US listing to fund AI Chip expansion, Korea Economic Daily says

SEOUL, March 24 (Reuters) – South Korea’s SK Hynix (000660.KS), is considering raising 10 trillion to 15 trillion won ($10.03 billion) through a potential U.S. listing, aiming ​to expand production capacity for advanced memory chips, the ‌Korea Economic Daily reported.

A U.S. listing would give the Nvidia (NVDA.O), supplier access to a wider pool of capital and could help narrow a gap in ​its valuation compared with global peers such as Micron (MU.O), the newspaper said.

Here are some details:

• SK Hynix plans to issue ⁠new shares to support a listing of American depositary receipts (ADRs), ​with funds likely to be used to build artificial intelligence infrastructure ​and expand capacity for memory products, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed industry sources.
• The chipmaker, in a statement to Reuters, said that the company is reviewing ​various measures to enhance shareholder value, including an ADR listing, but ​added that nothing has been finalised.
• SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won last week said ‌SK ⁠Hynix is reviewing a potential U.S. ADR listing to broaden its global investor base beyond Korea and increase exposure to global investors.
• In January, SK Hynix said it would cancel about 12.2 trillion ​won worth of ​treasury shares, equivalent ⁠to 2.1% of total shares outstanding, in a move aimed to boost shareholder value.
• SK Hynix ranks No.1 ​in the high-bandwidth memory chip market, used in AI, ​with ⁠a 57% share. It also holds a 32% share of the global DRAM market, used in AI chipsets and electronic devices, making it the second-largest ⁠player ​after cross-town rival Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), according to ​Counterpoint.
• Shares of SK Hynix closed up 5.7%, compared with a 2.7% rise in the ​benchmark KOSPI (.KS11).

($1 = 1,495.0000 won)

Reporting by Heekyong Yang; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair

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SK Hynix may raise up to $10 billion from US listing to fund AI Chip expansion, Korea Economic Daily says, source