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With SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won successfully steering SK Hynix onto the US Nasdaq market, the chipmaker is set to undergo a full-fledged evaluation by global institutional investors. The listing is expected to serve as a critical test, measuring not only the company's standing as a leading artificial intelligence (AI) memory provider but also the long-term sustainability of the broader AI investment sentiment. Observers are particularly keen to see how the listing will trigger a re-evaluation of the company’s enterprise value and impact the domestic South Korean stock market, especially now that SK Hynix stands on equal footing with its direct competitor, Micron Technology.

According to industry sources on July 12, SK Hynix will officially commence regular trading on the US Nasdaq on July 13 under its formal ticker symbol, "SKHY." During its first day of listing on July 10, conditional trading took place under a temporary ticker, "SKHYV," eliciting highly positive initial market feedback. SK Hynix's American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) opened at 170 dollars—well above the initial public offering (IPO) price of 149 dollars—before closing at around 168 dollars. The bookbuilding process for the offering drew massive interest, attracting orders seven times the available allocation and accumulating roughly 171.5 billion dollars (approximately 260 trillion won) in subscription capital. By securing 26.5 billion dollars through this ADR issuance, SK Hynix wrote new financial history by logging the largest-ever US public offering by a foreign enterprise.

The critical factor going forward will be how long this momentum can be sustained. Unlike conditional trading, which primarily reflects short-term post-IPO demand, regular trading will subject the company to thorough scrutiny by US institutional and retail investors based on actual earnings performance, future growth potential, and valuation multiples. This marks an entirely new phase for the company. Furthermore, the listing is viewed as a high-stakes transaction that will gauge broader AI investment appetite. Amid massive capital expenditure and lofty tech valuations, some segments of the industry have raised flags over actual profitability—fueling discussions over a potential "AI bubble." Against this backdrop, analysts note that the direct entrance of the clear leader in High Bandwidth Memory (HBM)—the core memory powering AI accelerators—into the Nasdaq will serve as a bellwether for AI semiconductor investment sentiment.

SK Hynix does not view the Nasdaq listing merely as a capital-raising exercise. The company plans to utilize the platform to diversify its global investor base and solidify its positioning as a "core AI partner." It also intends to broaden its connections within the next-generation computing ecosystem to unlock new business opportunities and expand strategic partnerships. "The ADR offering price is set at 149 dollars, and we will ensure that it does not dip below this line," Chairman Chey remarked. "We will continuously cultivate our potential to generate future growth engines, and translate these visions into concrete actions."

Whether the company can successfully re-rate its enterprise value is another focal point. Despite being the primary HBM supplier to global Big Tech giants like Nvidia, SK Hynix has historically traded at a discount compared to US-listed Micron Technology. Local Wall Street investors previously concentrated their capital on Micron as it offered direct investment access to the AI memory segment. Now that the ADR listing places SK Hynix on the same playing field as Micron, market attention is zeroing in on how much valuation gap it can close. Some experts believe the ultimate outcome hinges on whether the market shifts from viewing SK Hynix as a cyclical memory manufacturer to recognizing it as a critical beneficiary of AI infrastructure expansion. The resulting valuation shifts are expected to exert substantial influence not just on Nasdaq but on the company's domestic shares in South Korea.

"Technological revolutions will continue to unfold, and there is virtually no way to stop the increasing demand for memory storage," Chairman Chey explained. Addressing the potential impact on the domestic stock market, he added, "While market characteristics and investor preferences vary—occasionally causing valuation disparities—I don't believe those gaps will last forever. By issuing these ADRs, we have expanded the overall pie, allowing us to attract a larger network of financial partners and significantly increasing our probability of moving forward successfully."

                                                                                                              Choi In-kyu