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SK Hynix headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. / Courtesy of Yonhap News

SK Hynix is set to challenge its corporate valuation in the United States, the world's largest stock market and home to global Artificial Intelligence (AI) giants.

On the 24th, SK Hynix announced in a regulatory filing that it is pushing to list American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) on the Nasdaq on July 10.

The offering is valued at 45.45 trillion won. The proceeds are earmarked for construction and facility investments, including the first fab at the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster, the P&T7 advanced packaging fab in Cheongju, and related machinery.

The announcement comes three months after SK Hynix submitted its registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the ADR listing.

Driven by a recent surge in its domestic stock price, SK Hynix has climbed to the number one spot in market capitalization on the Kospi, serving as a barometer for high expectations in the AI semiconductor market.

Looking at the global stock market, the company is currently neck and neck with Micron for the 13th and 14th spots in market value. Industry watchers are keen to see whether the U.S. ADR listing will shift the competitive dynamics in its favor.

SK Hynix previously stated its goal to secure a net cash position of over 100 trillion won. Major global corporate groups typically hold around 90 trillion to 100 trillion won in net cash, whereas SK Hynix's holdings remain in the 10 trillion won range. This significant gap underscores the critical need for the company to raise further capital.

                                                                                                           Ahn So-yeon