South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix announced plans on June 24 to raise about $29 billion (45.45 trillion won) by listing American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) on the Nasdaq stock exchange [1, 2, 3, 4]. The offering will issue 17.79 million new shares, with 10 ADRs equivalent to one common share [1, 4, 5].
Trading of SK Hynix ADRs is expected to begin on July 10, 2026, although the timing remains tentative [1, 6, 7, 4, 5, 8]. Leading investment banks including Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan are managing the offering [1, 7, 4].
Proceeds will fund new chip production facilities in South Korea, including a factory in Yongin and an advanced packaging fab in Cheongju, as well as the purchase of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment critical for next-generation chips [1, 6, 7, 4, 5, 8]. SK Hynix is also expanding AI-related capacity in the United States, such as a $4 billion packaging plant in Indiana, its first American facility [4, 5].
SK Hynix is the world's second-largest memory chipmaker and leads the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market with a 57-60% revenue share as of late 2025 [1, 7, 4]. The company supplies HBM chips used in AI systems. Industry experts praise SK Hynix’s leading technology and cost competitiveness. MS Hwang, director at Counterpoint Research, said, "SK is definitely the top notch player in HBM. And it is better in cost of manufacturing. So its operating margin is the best. So it has the best product, lowest cost" [4].
The announcement boosted SK Hynix shares about 12% in Seoul on June 25 and helped drive the Kospi index up about 6% [9, 6, 10, 8]. The company’s market value has surged above $1 trillion after gains of 300-800% over the last year [9, 6, 10, 4, 5, 8]. The ADR offering, if priced at the top range, would rank among the largest of all time, comparable to Saudi Aramco’s $29.4 billion IPO and exceeding Alibaba’s $21.8 billion US listing in 2014 [1, 6, 7, 8].
Industry players expect the US listing to broaden SK Hynix's investor base and improve liquidity and valuation. Jung In Yun, CEO at Fibonacci Asset Management Global, said the move "should be viewed as a positive development that enhances liquidity and price discovery, rather than as a source of shareholder dilution" [6].
Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra noted that AI has structurally transformed the memory industry, with significant innovation ahead [11]. South Korea’s Samsung and SK Hynix reportedly plan to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in AI chip production over the next decade [12].
The bookbuilding process for the ADR offering is expected to start in the US on July 6, with final pricing set on July 9 [6]. If all goes according to schedule, SK Hynix ADRs will begin trading on Nasdaq on July 10, 2026 [1, 6, 7, 4, 5, 8].
