China’s leading memory chipmaker, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), is set to make its long-awaited debut on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s STAR Market on July 27, according to two people familiar with the matter cited by Reuters.

The debut will mark the biggest semiconductor listing in mainland China since SMIC’s blockbuster IPO in 2020. It comes as Beijing intensifies efforts to build a self-sufficient semiconductor industry in response to escalating U.S. export restrictions and growing competition in artificial intelligence infrastructure.

CXMT last week said it would begin book-building on July 15 for its initial public offering, seeking to raise 29.5 billion yuan ($4.35 billion).

The offering is expected to be Asia’s largest IPO so far this year, underscoring renewed investor appetite for strategic technology companies despite a cooling rally in Chinese equities. Government officials and senior executives from companies across China’s semiconductor supply chain are expected to attend the listing ceremony, one of the sources said, highlighting the political significance Beijing attaches to the company’s market debut.

The IPO comes at a pivotal moment for the global memory industry, where demand has surged on the back of unprecedented investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure. DRAM chips, which temporarily store data for processors, have become one of the most critical components powering AI servers, cloud computing platforms and large language model training systems. The rapid expansion of AI data centers by hyperscalers around the world has tightened supply and driven a strong recovery in memory prices over the past year.

According to industry estimates, CXMT now holds roughly 7.7% of the global DRAM market, making it the world’s fourth-largest producer behind Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology.

While the Chinese company remains well behind the industry’s technological leaders, it has rapidly expanded production capacity as domestic customers increasingly seek alternatives to foreign suppliers amid intensifying geopolitical tensions.

The company said proceeds from the IPO will primarily be used to upgrade manufacturing facilities, expand production capacity, and advance next-generation memory technologies. Analysts view those investments as crucial if China hopes to narrow the technology gap with global leaders, particularly as AI workloads demand increasingly advanced high-bandwidth and low-power memory solutions.

CXMT’s listing marks another milestone in China’s drive to develop a domestic semiconductor ecosystem capable of reducing dependence on imported technology as Washington tightens export controls on advanced chips, manufacturing equipment and AI technologies.

Chinese authorities have poured billions of dollars into semiconductor development through state-backed investment funds, tax incentives and financing support. CXMT has emerged as one of the country’s flagship memory chip manufacturers alongside foundry giant Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC).

The IPO also arrives as investors closely monitor China’s semiconductor sector for signs that domestic manufacturers can capitalize on AI-driven demand while navigating restrictions on access to cutting-edge foreign equipment.

Although CXMT has historically been viewed as trailing Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix technologically, industry analysts say the company has made meaningful progress in scaling production and improving manufacturing efficiency.

The fundraising could further strengthen its ability to compete in a market where memory producers are racing to develop more advanced DRAM products for AI accelerators and high-performance computing systems.

The transaction is also being watched for its potential impact on China’s capital markets. Large IPOs have at times raised concerns about draining liquidity from secondary markets, particularly as China’s technology stock rally has begun to moderate after a strong first half of the year.

Some analysts, however, believe strong structural demand for AI hardware will mitigate those concerns.

“Memory supply is still not enough,” said Donnie Teng, Greater China semiconductor analyst at Nomura.

He said the industry’s long-term outlook remains supported by sustained spending from global cloud providers on AI infrastructure.

“As long as AI demand is structurally positive and hyperscalers continue to spend their capex, the whole market can eventually absorb the liquidity drain from this IPO,” Teng said.

Beyond its immediate fundraising impact, CXMT’s listing will be viewed as a barometer of investor confidence in China’s broader semiconductor strategy. Analysts expect a successful market debut to encourage further listings by domestic chipmakers seeking capital to expand production and accelerate research, bolstering Beijing’s ambition to build a globally competitive semiconductor industry despite restrictive U.S. technology controls.

South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party has proposed legislation that would make it easier for SK Hynix to establish joint ventures with outside investors to finance new semiconductor manufacturing plants, underscoring Seoul’s determination to strengthen its position in the global artificial intelligence supply chain.

The proposed amendment follows President Lee Jae Myung’s broader strategy to transform South Korea into a global AI powerhouse by expanding domestic semiconductor production and securing leadership in advanced memory chips that underpin AI systems.

If approved, the legislation would remove a key corporate governance restriction that has limited SK Hynix’s ability to raise capital for large-scale factory projects at a time when semiconductor manufacturers are embarking on some of the most expensive investment cycles in the industry’s history.

Under current South Korean law governing strategic industries with cutting-edge technologies, a subsidiary of a subsidiary cannot establish certain joint ventures with outside investors.

Because SK Hynix is owned by SK Square, which in turn is controlled by SK Inc, the memory chipmaker falls under this restriction.

The proposed amendment would allow SK Hynix to establish joint ventures to build semiconductor fabrication plants provided it retains at least a 50% ownership stake, enabling the company to attract external capital while maintaining operational control. The legislation is aimed primarily at SK Hynix because other major South Korean conglomerates, including Samsung Group, maintain different ownership structures that are generally less affected by the restriction.

The proposal comes only days after SK Hynix completed a $26.5 billion U.S. share sale, one of the largest overseas equity offerings by an Asian technology company. While the fundraising significantly strengthened its balance sheet, analysts expect the company to require substantially more capital to finance its long-term expansion plans as AI demand accelerates.

Building cutting-edge semiconductor fabrication facilities has become dramatically more expensive. Advanced memory fabs now routinely require investments running into tens of billions of dollars, driven by increasingly sophisticated manufacturing equipment, higher construction costs, and the transition to next-generation memory technologies.

Lawmakers backing the bill said companies can no longer rely solely on traditional financing methods to support projects of this scale. South Korea needs the “fast construction of fabs to win against other major countries and companies,” the draft legislation states.

The proposed legal change highlights how governments are increasingly reshaping corporate rules to strengthen domestic semiconductor industries amid intensifying competition between the United States, China, South Korea and Taiwan for AI leadership.

SK Hynix has become one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI boom as the world’s leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used alongside Nvidia’s AI graphics processors.

HBM has emerged as one of the semiconductor industry’s most strategically important products because it dramatically increases data transfer speeds between AI accelerators and memory, making it essential for training and deploying large language models.

Demand for HBM has consistently outpaced supply over the past two years, allowing SK Hynix to establish itself as Nvidia’s primary memory supplier and significantly improve profitability.

The South Korean government has responded by unveiling plans to create new semiconductor manufacturing clusters outside the Seoul metropolitan area. Both SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics have pledged to invest about 400 trillion won ($268 billion) each in new semiconductor facilities, making the projects among the largest industrial investments in the country’s history.

Under the proposed legislation, any new joint venture established under the revised rules would be required to locate its headquarters or principal office outside the greater Seoul area, supporting the government’s broader objective of promoting regional economic development while expanding national semiconductor capacity.

The bill follows a global pattern of governments intervening more actively to support semiconductor manufacturing through subsidies, regulatory reforms and industrial policies. The United States, European Union, Japan and China have all introduced major initiatives aimed at securing domestic chip production amid growing geopolitical tensions and concerns over supply chain resilience.

Despite the policy support, investors have remained cautious.

SK Hynix shares fell 8.6% in Seoul trading on Tuesday, extending losses from the previous session as enthusiasm following the company’s Nasdaq debut faded and broader semiconductor stocks remained under pressure.

The near-term share price weakness, however, does little to alter the company’s strategic importance. As hyperscalers, including Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta, continue investing hundreds of billions of dollars in AI infrastructure, demand for advanced memory is expected to remain robust. That will reinforce SK Hynix’s central role in the global AI hardware ecosystem, explaining why South Korean policymakers are moving to give the company greater financial flexibility to fund its next phase of expansion.

Switzerland’s Competition Commission (COMCO) has launched a preliminary investigation into Google’s removal of a feature that allowed Android users to choose their preferred default search engine during device setup, adding to mounting regulatory pressure on Big Tech across Europe.

The watchdog said on Tuesday it is examining whether Google’s decision to disable the “Choice Screen” in Switzerland while keeping it available elsewhere in Europe could amount to anti-competitive conduct under the Swiss Cartel Act.

The investigation marks the latest challenge for Google, whose search, advertising, and Android businesses have been under almost continuous regulatory scrutiny across Europe for years as authorities intensify efforts to curb the market power of the world’s largest technology companies.

Google said it was aware of the investigation.

“We look forward to cooperating fully with the authority to address their questions,” a company spokesperson said.

The Choice Screen allows users setting up a new Android smartphone to select their preferred default search engine instead of automatically using Google Search. According to COMCO, Google has removed that option for users in Switzerland, even though it remains available across countries in the European Economic Area (EEA).

As a result, Swiss users are automatically assigned Google Search unless they manually change the setting later.

The Swiss regulator said this could significantly reduce the visibility of rival search engines at a critical stage of the user experience.

“In digital markets, default settings play a decisive role,” COMCO said, noting that removing the option could weaken competition not only among search engines but also among other digital service providers that depend on online discovery.

The regulator added that Google’s approach creates unequal treatment between Swiss consumers and users elsewhere in Europe, where regulators have required greater consumer choice.

The preliminary investigation will determine whether Google’s conduct constitutes an abuse of its market position under Swiss competition law.

According to web analytics firm Statcounter, Google controls roughly 82% of Switzerland’s online search market, reinforcing regulators’ concerns about the company’s influence over internet search.

Europe’s Scrutiny of Big Tech Continues to Intensify

The Swiss investigation shows that regulatory pressure on Google and other major technology companies has shown little sign of easing, even after years of antitrust cases, record fines, and sweeping new digital regulations across Europe.

Google has been at the center of European competition enforcement for more than a decade. The European Commission has imposed billions of euros in fines against the company over practices involving Android, online shopping services and digital advertising, while requiring changes to how its products operate within the bloc.

The Android Choice Screen itself emerged from one of those cases after European regulators concluded that Google had illegally leveraged Android’s dominance to reinforce the market position of its search engine and Chrome browser.

More recently, scrutiny has expanded beyond traditional antitrust investigations.

The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which came into force last year, imposes strict obligations on designated “gatekeeper” platforms, requiring companies such as Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and ByteDance to make their ecosystems more open to competitors and give users greater freedom over default services and pre-installed applications.

European regulators are also increasingly focusing on product design choices rather than simply pricing or acquisitions. Features such as default settings, app placement, browser selection, and interoperability have become central to competition enforcement because they can shape user behavior and entrench dominant platforms without consumers actively making those choices.

Google is far from alone in facing heightened oversight.

Apple continues to face multiple investigations over its App Store rules, browser policies and interoperability obligations under the DMA. Meta remains under scrutiny over its advertising practices, subscription models and data usage, while Microsoft, Amazon and TikTok owner ByteDance are also subject to ongoing investigations and compliance reviews across Europe.

Switzerland’s probe demonstrates that this tougher regulatory stance is spreading beyond the European Union itself. Although Switzerland is not an EU member, its competition authorities have increasingly aligned with broader European efforts to ensure digital markets remain contestable.

If COMCO finds evidence of anti-competitive behavior, Google could be required to restore the Choice Screen for Swiss Android users and potentially face further enforcement measures.