SK Chairman Chey Tae-won (fourth from left, front row) and SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung (third) join other top SK executives for the opening bell ceremony marking SK hynix’s Nasdaq American depositary receipt (ADR) listing at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square, New York, on the 10th (local time). Captured from YouTube
SK hynix (000660.KS) made a spectacular debut on the Nasdaq, the global stock market stage, completing the largest initial public offering (IPO) by a foreign company in the United States, and also achieving premium pricing—winning an IPO price higher than that of its home shares in Korea for the first time. Through this listing, SK hynix pledged to draw closer to U.S. Big Tech firms and investors while repaying that support by expanding local investment.
Kwak Noh-jung, chief executive officer (CEO) of SK hynix, held a ceremony marking the listing of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square, New York, on the 10th. “In the epicenter of artificial intelligence (AI) innovation, we will move closer to our customers, partners and talent, and build deeper partnerships,” Kwak said, expressing his ambition to “also improve access to SK hynix investment for global investors.”
Along with the ceremony that day, SK hynix issued 177.9 million ADRs at $149 per share, raising a total of $26.5 billion (about 40.0231 trillion won). This is the largest amount among foreign companies listed in the United States, surpassing China’s Alibaba ($25 billion, about 38 trillion won) in 2014. SK hynix in particular achieved premium pricing—the only case in U.S. IPO history of offering at a price higher than the existing share price. Thanks to high expectations for the growth potential of the memory industry, the ADR offering price was exceptionally valued 3% higher than the home shares in Korea.
SK hynix plans to invest the entire 40 trillion won raised this time into expanding semiconductor fabs. It will make concentrated investments in the first fab of the Yongin semiconductor cluster and also channel funds into the construction of the Cheongju P&T7 advanced packaging fab and the purchase of advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) equipment. By immediately raising a large amount of funds equivalent to a year of capital expenditure (CAPEX), the company can move preemptively on infrastructure expansion.
Kwak said at the ceremony, “We will repay our customers’ trust in SK hynix through action.” This is also read as an intention to focus on expanding the memory supply that U.S. Big Tech firms have repeatedly requested, through fab investment.
He also said, “We will contribute to supporting innovation, strengthening industry and building an ecosystem (in the United States),” and “We will fulfill our responsibility by investing in businesses and technologies that create opportunities for people and shape the future.” The message is that, having gained growth opportunities through the Nasdaq listing, SK hynix will repay this by expanding local investment. The U.S. government also requested that SK hynix and Samsung Electronics expand their semiconductor investment in the United States that day.
Kwak added, “Twenty-five years ago, SK hynix faced the difficulty of a downturn in the DRAM market and came to the brink of bankruptcy,” and “We endured and grew stronger.” He signaled continued innovation, saying, “In 2011, we opened a new chapter with SK Group and decided to invest in and develop high-bandwidth memory (HBM), and we have not stopped innovating since.”
SK Chairman Chey Tae-won, who attended in person that day, also took the podium himself after listening to Kwak’s presentation and celebrated SK hynix’s Nasdaq listing with key executives in a performance of applause and a thumbs-up. Chairman Chey has emphasized that he will grow SK hynix’s market capitalization to 2,000 trillion won, the ranks of global Big Tech.