SK하이닉스 ADR 나스닥 상장…코스피 상승세 이어갈까

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What SK hynix’s record Nasdaq listing means for Korea

The Nasdaq listing opens a new channel to global capital while sending billions of dollars back into Korean fabs, equipment and the won

The SK hynix logo is seen at the chipmaker’s headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, on May 26. The company’s market capitalization topped $1 trillion for the first time on May 27, making it the second Korean company after Samsung Electronics to reach the milestone. (Yonhap)

SK hynix has completed its Nasdaq debut, giving US investors a direct, dollar-traded route into the South Korean memory chipmaker after a record $26.5 billion offering.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung and other senior executives marked the listing Friday with an opening-bell ceremony at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York.

“For many global investors, investing in SK hynix has not always been simple,” Kwak said. “Our ADR listing makes that access easier.”

For a company whose Seoul-listed shares have surged on the artificial intelligence boom, the number that matters is not only the size of the raise. It is what the listing changes about who can own SK hynix, how the stock is valued and where the money will go.

What has changed for investors?

SK hynix is listing American depositary receipts on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Each receipt represents one-tenth of a common share, so 10 ADRs equal one Seoul-listed share.

The receipts are priced and traded in dollars. That allows investors to buy exposure to SK hynix through US brokerage accounts without opening a Korean account or directly converting dollars into won.

The company sold 177.9 million ADRs at $149 each. The offer price was about 2.9 percent above SK hynix’s Thursday closing price in Seoul, an unusual outcome for a large equity sale.

New shares are normally priced below the prevailing market price to attract buyers and account for the added supply. SK hynix said the deal was the first US initial public offering of its kind to be priced at a premium.

Demand exceeded the available ADRs by more than seven times, according to Bloomberg on Thursday.

The receipts are initially trading under the temporary ticker SKHYV. The symbol is scheduled to change to SKHY when regular-way trading begins Monday.

Why list in the US when the stock already trades in Seoul?

The company already has global customers and leads the market for high-bandwidth memory, the advanced chips used alongside AI processors. The listing is mainly about access.

Many US institutions face practical or internal limits on buying Korean shares. A Nasdaq-listed ADR can be held, settled and reported within familiar US systems.

Dave Mazza, chief executive of New York-based Roundhill Investments, told Reuters that the listing removes an accessibility barrier rather than a quality problem. SK hynix, he said, is one of the world’s most important companies that many US institutions could not easily own.

Kwak said the listing would also bring SK hynix closer to the US-based AI ecosystem.

“The US is the epicenter of AI,” he said. “The customers leading AI innovation are here. The partners building the ecosystem are here.”

The listing may also give the company more flexibility to raise capital in the future as the cost of building AI infrastructure continues to climb.

What is SK hynix building with the money?

The proceeds are earmarked for facilities and equipment in Korea.

The main projects include the first fabrication plant at the Yongin semiconductor cluster, the P&T7 advanced packaging and test facility in Cheongju, and extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment.

Together, the investments show where SK hynix sees the main constraints in AI memory.

Yongin will add capacity for advanced DRAM, the base technology behind high-bandwidth memory. Cheongju will expand the packaging and testing processes used to stack DRAM chips into HBM products. EUV equipment is needed to print increasingly fine circuits as memory chips become more advanced.

SK hynix held 58 percent of the global HBM market by revenue in the first quarter, according to Counterpoint Research. The spending is intended to help defend that lead as demand from AI data centers continues to rise.

Will the listing actually lift the stock?

That is the central bet, but it is not guaranteed.

SK hynix has often traded at a lower valuation than US rival Micron Technology despite its lead in HBM. Supporters of the listing argue that easier access to US investors could narrow that gap.

Kim Dong-won, head of research at KB Securities, has pointed to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. as a possible precedent. After TSMC listed ADRs in 1997, its US receipts drew a broader investor base and often traded at a premium to its Taipei shares.

But a US ticker does not automatically make the underlying business more valuable.

Samsung Securities has argued that an ADR improves access and allows another market to set a price, but does not by itself change a company’s earnings or assets.

Friday’s market reaction in Seoul offered an early reminder of that distinction. SK hynix rose more than 5 percent during the session, but reversed course to close 0.27 percent lower at 2.18 million won as investors took profits.

The next question is whether the ADRs trade at a premium to the Seoul-listed shares.

A key factor will be fungibility, or how easily investors can convert ADRs into Korean common shares and move in the other direction. If conversion is smooth, arbitrage traders can help keep prices aligned. If it is restricted or delayed, the US receipts could trade at a premium for longer.

The Korea Corporate Governance Forum has also argued that a US listing alone will not secure a lasting rerating without stronger board independence and more transparent capital-allocation decisions.

What does it mean for Korea?

The most direct effect will be domestic investment.

Much of the money raised in New York is due to be spent on factories and equipment in Korea, supporting projects in Yongin and Cheongju as SK hynix expands production for the AI era.

The deal may also affect the foreign-exchange market. Since part of the proceeds will be used for domestic spending, some dollars will eventually need to be converted into won.

Funds are expected to begin entering Korea around July 15, with other conversions potentially spread over a longer period through spot and forward transactions, according to a source cited by Reuters.

Expectations of future dollar selling have already supported the won. The currency closed at 1,501.4 per dollar Friday, strengthening by 4.7 won from the previous session.

For Korean investors, the lasting question is whether wider US access lifts both the ADRs and the Seoul shares, or leaves the two trading at different valuations.

mjh@heraldcorp.com