Leading wafer foundry Nexchip Semiconductor has listed on the HKEX main board on 10 July, raising around HKD6.98 billion (USD890 million) and completing the company’s dual listing following its SSE debut in 2023. Clifford Chance, King & Wood, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer and Haiwen & Partners advised on the transaction.
Nexchip priced around 216 million H shares at HKD32.3 each, attracting cornerstone investors including Chipone Technology, GF Fund, Chery Automobile Hong Kong and Taikang Life Insurance. CICC acted as the sole sponsor.
Clifford Chance advised Nexchip on Hong Kong and US law, led by partners Xiang Tianning and Fang Liu. King & Wood counselled on PRC law and US export control and sanctions law, with partners Su Zheng and Liu Dongya leading the team. Partners Liu Xinyu, Wu Han and Ryunosuke Ushijima provided support on international sanctions law, data compliance and Japanese law, respectively.
For the underwriters, HSF Kramer advised on Hong Kong and US law, led by partners Jason Sung and Kong Jin. Haiwen & Partners acted as PRC law counsel, with partner Xu Qifei leading the team.
Headquartered in Anhui province, Nexchip was established in 2015 and specialised in 12-inch wafer foundry services. The company focuses on the development and application of advanced process technologies and provides foundry services across multiple process nodes and technology platforms. Its products serve sectors including consumer and automotive electronics, industrial control, artificial intelligence, the internet of things and memory capacity.
The prospectus stated that the IPO proceeds would mainly be used for the research and optimisation of the next-generation 22nm technology platform, AI-based intelligent R&D and production planning, the establishment of an R&D and sales centre in Hong Kong, and general working capital and corporate purposes.
