Nexchip Prices Hong Kong Share Sale at Top of Range for $890M

The interesting thing about Nexchip Semiconductor's Hong Kong share sale is not the size, it is the vintage of the capacity the money is going to buy. The state-backed foundry priced its offering at the top end of the range on Wednesday, Reuters reported, selling 216.2 million shares at HK$32.30 each for around HK$6.98 billion, or roughly $890 million. Shares are expected to begin trading on July 10.

That capital is not going toward the leading-edge processors that get the AI headlines. Nexchip is China's third-largest chip foundry, trailing only SMIC and Hua Hong Semiconductor, and it built its business on what the industry calls mature-node chips: display drivers, power management circuits, image sensors. According to the reporting, about 53.6% of the proceeds are earmarked for developing the company's 22nm platform, with additional spending directed at production tied to AI-related demand. More than HK$3.5 billion goes to R&D, another HK$1.5 billion to AI-powered systems meant to link research, development and production. The bigger capex story sits behind the raise: a Phase IV facility in Hefei's Xinzhan High-Tech Zone, a 35.5 billion yuan (roughly $5.1 billion) build meant to add 55,000 wafers a month at 28nm and 40nm.

Read against the market backdrop, the pitch to investors gets clearer. New listings in Hong Kong ran about $22.45 billion in the first half, nearly 57% up on last year, the busiest start in five years. Nexchip is positioning as the mature-node bet with an AI overlay, and the Hong Kong leg of a dual listing is what makes that story reachable for offshore capital.

The honest caveat is inside Nexchip's own guidance. The company has warned that 2026 net profit is expected to fall compared to the prior year, mainly because of heavy depreciation costs tied to the new fab. What the reporting doesn't give you is the cornerstone book, the greenshoe size, current utilization on the existing lines, or how exposed Nexchip's customer mix is if the US tightens controls around Chinese trailing-edge capacity. Take the AI-supply-chain framing as strategy, not settled economics.

For anyone tracking where China's chip complex is actually spending, the direction is clear enough. The dollars are going into the boring nodes, timed for Hong Kong's window while it is open.