ICHEON, South Korea — South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix announced on Wednesday it made a confidential filing for a US listing targeted for the second half of 2026, which a source said could raise as much as $14 billion.
SK Hynix plans to list about 2 percent to 3 percent of its total shares and hopes to use the funds to help finance its work in chip factories in South Korea’s Yongin city and the US state of Indiana, a person with direct knowledge of the discussions told Reuters.
The company, one of the world’s largest makers of memory chips, has been expanding production capacity to keep up with strong demand for artificial intelligence data centers. Shares of SK Hynix were trading up 2.3 percent as of 0300 GMT (11:00 a.m. in Manila), compared with the benchmark Kospi’s 1.7 percent gain.
Confidential filings allow companies to withhold details about their finances and offering terms until closer to the actual listing.
A 2 percent to 3 percent share issue would equate to $9.6 billion to $14.4 billion of SK Hynix’s market capitalization, potentially more than double Coupang’s $4.6 billion US IPO in 2021 and marking what could be the biggest US listing in five years, according to Reuters calculations based on Tuesday’s closing share price.
The company, in a domestic regulatory filing on Wednesday, said: “While we aim to complete the listing within 2026, specific details — such as the size, structure and timeline of the offering — have not yet been finalized.”
SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung said at the company’s annual shareholder meeting that the US listing plan could be described as part of efforts to have its corporate value reassessed in the United States, the world’s largest equity market, where major global semiconductor firms are listed.
Kwak added that the company aims to list in the United States in the second half of this year.
The Korea Economic Daily reported earlier this week that SK Hynix was considering raising 10 trillion to 15 trillion won ($6.7 billion to $10 billion) through the issue of new shares in such a US listing.
At the company’s shareholder meeting, SK Hynix also said it aims to secure more than 100 trillion won in net cash to better respond to customer demand and stabilize business operations, without providing a timeline, compared with 12.7 trillion won at the end of 2025.
The planned US listing comes as SK Hynix ramps up investment to meet surging demand for artificial intelligence chips while also navigating rising geopolitical risks and investor scrutiny over capital allocation.
In January, US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation aimed at addressing national security concerns related to semiconductor imports, imposing a 25 percent tariff on certain artificial intelligence chips, including Nvidia’s H200 AI processor and AMD’s MI325X.
Separately, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said South Korean and Taiwanese chipmakers that are not investing in the United States could face tariffs of up to 100 percent unless they commit to expanding production on American soil.
Clamor for share buyback
The Korea Corporate Governance Forum, an advocacy group that comprises investors and lawyers, said on Wednesday it opposes SK Hynix’s potential issuance of new shares for the US listing, saying the move would dilute the value of existing shares and undermine Korea’s revised legislation to protect the interests of all shareholders.
The forum said SK Hynix will be able to generate more than enough excess cash flow even after making capital expenditure and R&D investments during 2026–28, and urged the company to buy back 10 percent to 15 percent of its stock and use most of that for the US listing.
“The decision was disappointing,” said Kim Hyun-su, a fund manager at Seoul-based IBK Asset Management. “I don’t understand why they have to issue new shares — they can probably pursue the listing using existing shares instead. If they conduct buybacks and then seek the US listing, it would make everyone happy.” reuters
