On July 28, 2026, ChangXin Memory Technologies (ChangXin) closed at 47 CNY per share, slightly down from its first-day close of 49 CNY, with a total market capitalization of 3 trillion CNY. The IPO set records as the largest on the STAR Market and the first A-share tech stock to open above 3 trillion CNY. The listing created nearly 100 billion CNY in wealth for founder Zhu Yiming, over ten billionaires among executives, and an average of 5.61 million CNY per employee for 6,760 staff through employee stock ownership plans.
Wealth Distribution and Employee Benefits
Founder Zhu Yiming holds approximately 1.592 billion shares, valued at 78 billion CNY at the closing price. However, he has pledged not to sell any shares for ten years, and half of his holdings (768 million shares) will be distributed to employees over the same period. President Cao Kanyu holds shares worth 10.388 billion CNY, while several other executives have holdings exceeding 1 billion CNY. The employee stock ownership plans, launched in 2021 and 2023, covered 6,760 participants at prices as low as 0.108 CNY per share, resulting in hundreds of times appreciation and creating at least 237 millionaires.
Strategic Investors and Industry Integration
Strategic investors include NIO and Xiaomi, each subscribing 158 million CNY for 18.2448 million shares, with paper gains of over 730 million CNY. NIO's investment is driven by supply chain synergy, as its Hefei factory is just a few hundred meters from ChangXin's fab, focusing on automotive-grade DRAM. Xiaomi's investment is part of its industrial layout for smartphones and electric vehicles. Other investors span the entire semiconductor supply chain: silicon wafer suppliers (NSIG, Xi'an YiCai, TCL Zhonghuan), equipment makers (AMEC, Yitang), and downstream customers (Alibaba Cloud, Tencent, Meituan, ZTE, Transsion, Chery). DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng's two private equity funds participated in offline placement, gaining 20.2497 million shares worth 175 million CNY, with a paper profit of 827 million CNY.
Hefei's Investment Success
Hefei municipal state-owned assets hold about 36.79% of ChangXin, making it the largest shareholder. Hefei invested 14.4 billion CNY in 2016 for the first phase, with total cumulative investment of 26-30 billion CNY. Despite nine consecutive years of losses (cumulative over 30 billion CNY), Hefei persisted. At the IPO, Hefei's stake is worth over 1.2 trillion CNY, yielding a paper profit exceeding 1 trillion CNY. This exemplifies the "Hefei Model" of government-led venture capital focusing on long-term industrial development.
Country Garden's Missed Opportunity
Country Garden, through its venture capital arm, sold its 1.56% stake in ChangXin for 2 billion CNY in late 2024 at 2.19 CNY per share. At the IPO price, that stake would be worth 51.1 billion CNY, a missed gain of 49 billion CNY. The sale was forced by Country Garden's liquidity crisis, as the parent company needed cash for debt repayment and project completion. In contrast, Galaxy Holdings, which invested 1 billion CNY in the same round, held its stake and saw a 30x return. The difference lies in the ability to "hold on" during tough times, highlighting the shift from real estate-driven fast-cycle investing to long-term tech investing.
Market Significance
ChangXin's market cap surpassed ICBC, marking the first time a tech company tops the A-share market. Its dynamic P/E ratio based on 2026 forecast earnings is around 20x, but its earnings jumped from a loss in 2025 to over 50 billion CNY profit in H1 2026. Some brokerages set a target price of 116 CNY, implying a market cap of 7.76 trillion CNY. This reflects a fundamental shift in A-share valuation from traditional sectors to hard tech, driven by AI demand for memory and domestic substitution.
