en.Wedoany.com Reported - On June 24, South Korean memory chip company SK Hynix announced plans to raise up to 45.45 trillion won (approximately $29.43 billion) through the issuance of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) in the United States. The relevant ADRs are scheduled to be listed on the Nasdaq in the U.S. on July 10. The proceeds will be used for semiconductor factory construction and to expand chip production capacity for artificial intelligence applications. The final fundraising amount remains subject to bookbuilding results.
According to the issuance plan disclosed by SK Hynix, the company plans to issue approximately 17.79 million new shares to support the ADR listing. Compared to earlier market expectations for fundraising, this upper limit has significantly expanded. In March, Reuters reported that SK Hynix was considering raising between 10 trillion and 15 trillion won through a U.S. listing; in early June, the company stated it planned to issue ADRs within 2026, but the scale and timing were not yet determined. With the announcement of the 45.45 trillion won upper limit, external attention on its capital expenditure pace has intensified.
The funds are primarily directed toward manufacturing. SK Hynix plans to use the proceeds for the construction of a new semiconductor factory in Yongin, South Korea, the development of advanced packaging production facilities in Cheongju, South Korea, and the procurement of chip manufacturing equipment such as extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines. Semiconductor factory construction involves not only facility investment but also supporting elements such as cleanrooms, power systems, chemical supply, ultrapure water, exhaust gas and wastewater treatment, equipment installation, production line validation, and yield ramp-up. For memory chip manufacturers, capacity expansion from civil construction to stable mass production typically requires sustained investment, and a larger single fundraising round reflects greater pressure from subsequent construction tasks and equipment procurement.
SK Hynix has been continuously investing in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) sector in recent years. HBM is primarily used in AI accelerators, high-performance computing, and AI server scenarios, with product performance directly linked to bandwidth, power consumption, stacked packaging, and supply stability. As shipments from U.S. AI chip companies like Nvidia grow, HBM's strategic position in the memory chip market has rapidly risen, drawing increased capital market attention to SK Hynix. In a June 24 report, Reuters noted that SK Hynix's early bet on HBM has placed it in a more favorable position following the surge in AI memory demand.
Changes in the capital market have already been reflected in stock prices and market capitalization. On June 22, SK Hynix's market cap briefly surpassed that of Samsung Electronics, making it one of the highest-valued listed companies in South Korea. Samsung Electronics has long been regarded as a representative enterprise of South Korea's semiconductor industry, but SK Hynix's overtaking, driven by AI memory demand, indicates that high-performance memory has become a core variable in the current semiconductor competition. For SK Hynix, issuing ADRs on the Nasdaq in the U.S. not only supplements funding for factory construction and equipment procurement but also directly places the company within the pricing framework of U.S. tech stock investors.
The 45.45 trillion won figure does not represent the final amount secured. Bookbuilding, U.S. regulatory review, market volatility, and investor subscription demand will all affect the actual issuance scale and pricing outcome. Going forward, attention should be paid to SK Hynix's formal filings, the ADR issuance price, listing and trading arrangements, and the progress of semiconductor projects in Yongin and Cheongju, South Korea, corresponding to the raised funds. If the issuance is completed at a higher scale, SK Hynix will gain stronger financial support for expanding AI memory chip production capacity, building advanced packaging facilities, and procuring key manufacturing equipment.
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