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SK Hynix's Solidigm Eyes US IPO as Early as Next Year, Potential Valuation Up to $150B
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Japanese stocks strengthened on September 28, with the Nikkei 225 index rising 0.93% after opening 0.2% higher, led by construction and steel shares. The rally followed the release of Japan's August corporate service price index, which rose 3.7% year-on-year, slightly above the previous 3.6%. Bank of Japan meeting minutes showed members noted core inflation is near 2%, with one member stressing the need to monitor whether long-term inflation expectations stabilize around that level. Meanwhile, South Korea's KOSPI fell 0.67%, dragged down by SK Hynix (-1.99%) and Samsung Electronics (-0.35%). In corporate news, SK Hynix's subsidiary Solidigm is reportedly considering an IPO as early as next year, aiming to raise $15 billion at a potential valuation of up to $150 billion. Solidigm is also evaluating sites in the eastern United States for its first domestic NAND flash production facility. The storage chip sector was boosted by the IPO news and AI data center demand expectations, with SK Hynix rising 2.78% and other chip stocks gaining. In the U.S., the Nasdaq rose 0.48% on Friday, with Microsoft gaining 3.66% after announcing new Copilot features.
Source report
Japan Market Overview
Japanese stocks strengthened in early trading on September 28. The Nikkei 225 (N225) index opened 0.2% higher, led by gains in the construction and steel (850106) sectors. As of press time, the Nikkei 225 had expanded its gains to 0.93%.
Economic Data and Central Bank Commentary
Japan's August Corporate Services Price Index rose 3.7% year-on-year, compared to the previous reading of 3.60%.
Minutes from the Bank of Japan's meeting revealed that multiple members noted recent core inflation was approaching 2%, emphasizing the need to monitor stable price growth around that level. One member stated that attention must be paid to whether long-term inflation expectations will stabilize at around 2%.
Corporate Developments
Over the weekend, Japan's JX Metals announced plans to increase sputtering target production to meet demand from hard disk manufacturing.
South Korea Market Overview
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) opened 0.3% lower and was trading down 0.67% as of press time. Key stocks declined, with SK Hynix (SKHY) falling 1.99% and Samsung Electronics dropping 0.35%.
The Bank of Korea stated that the country's economic fundamentals remain solid and that it will closely monitor financial and foreign exchange markets.
SK Hynix Subsidiary Solidigm Eyes IPO
Citing a Reuters report, Zhongxin Jingwei noted that Solidigm, a subsidiary of memory giant SK Hynix (SKHY), is considering an initial public offering as early as next year. The company aims to raise approximately $15 billion, with a potential valuation of up to $150 billion.
Earlier, Solidigm was evaluating the construction of a NAND flash memory production facility in the United States. The company is reportedly assessing land and supporting infrastructure in the eastern U.S. to establish a NAND mass production line, which would be its first NAND manufacturing base in the country. Solidigm's current mass production facility is located in Dalian, China, while its U.S. operations are limited to headquarters and R&D centers.
In October 2020, Intel (INTC) announced the sale of its NAND flash memory and solid-state drive businesses to SK Hynix for a total transaction value of approximately $8.85 billion.
U.S. Market Recap
On Friday, September 25, all three major U.S. stock indices closed higher, with the Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC) rising 0.48%. Major tech stocks showed mixed performance:
- Microsoft (MSFT) rose 3.66%, closing at its highest level since November last year. The company announced the launch of a new version of Copilot, adding three core capabilities: Home, Code, and Autopilot. The update aims to expand the AI assistant from a conversational tool into an intelligent agent capable of executing tasks, building applications, and working continuously. Microsoft also embedded its Office applications—Word, Excel, and PowerPoint—directly into Copilot, allowing users to collaborate on these apps without leaving the AI tool.
Memory Chip Sector Performance
The memory chip sector (886042) saw broad gains, driven by news of SK Hynix's subsidiary Solidigm's potential U.S. IPO and expectations of AI data center demand for NAND flash and high-bandwidth memory:
- SK Hynix (SKHY): +2.78%
- Qualcomm (QCOM): +3.97%
- Western Digital (WDC): +1.44%
- SanDisk (SNDK): +1.38%
Source
同花顺财经Regional
Part of this Story
**Japan Stocks Rally on Services Price Data; SK Hynix Unit Solidigm Eyes $15 Billion US IPO**