ICHEON, South Korea, March 25 (Reuters) - South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix plans a confidential filing to list shares in the U.S. in the second half of 2026, the company said on Tuesday, which a source said could raise as much as $14 billion.
It would list about 2% to 3% of its total shares and use the funds to help finance chipmaking factories in South Korea's Yongin city and the U.S. state of Indiana, a person with direct knowledge of the discussions said.
SK Hynix did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the fundraising size.
The company is one of the world's largest memory chipmakers and has been expanding production capacity to keep up with strong demand for artificial intelligence data centres. SK Hynix shares were trading up 1.13% as of 0526 GMT, compared with the benchmark KOSPI's 1.9% gain.
Confidential filings allow companies to withhold details about their finances and offering terms until closer to the actual listing.
A 2% to 3% share issue would equate to $9.6 billion to $14.4 billion, based on SK Hynix's market capitalisation.
That would potentially be more than double Coupang’s $4.6 billion U.S. IPO in 2021 and marking what could be the biggest U.S. listing in five years, according to Reuters calculations based on Tuesday's closing share price.
The company, in a domestic regulatory filing on Wednesday, said: "While we aim to complete the listing within 2026, specific details - such as the size, structure, and timeline of the offering - have not yet been finalised."
SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung said at the company's annual shareholder meeting that the U.S. listing plan could be described as part of efforts to have its corporate value reassessed in the United States, the world's largest equity market where major global semiconductor firms are listed.
Kwak added that the company aims to list in the United States in the second half of this year.
The Korea Economic Daily reported earlier this week that SK Hynix was considering raising 10 trillion to 15 trillion won ($6.7 billion to $10 billion) in the U.S. listing.
At the company's shareholder meeting, SK Hynix also said it aims to secure more than 100 trillion won in net cash to better respond to customer demand and stabilisebusiness operations, without providing a timeline, compared with 12.7 trillion won at the end of 2025.
The listing plans come as SK Hynix ramps up investment to meet surging demand for artificial intelligence chips, while also navigating rising geopolitical risks and investor scrutiny over capital allocation.
Kim Sun-woo, a senior analyst at Meritz Securities, said a U.S. listing would give SK Hynix a directly comparable peer in U.S.-listed Micron, enabling a clearer comparison that highlights its undervaluation despite stronger profitability, and technological capability, and underscoring the need to address the gap more directly for shareholders.
In January, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a proclamation aimed at addressing national security concerns related to semiconductor imports, imposing a 25% tariff on certain artificial intelligence chips, including Nvidia's H200 AI processor and AMD's MI325X.
Separately, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said South Korean and Taiwanese chipmakers that are not investing in the United States could face tariffs of up to 100% unless they commit to expanding production on American soil.
CLAMOUR FOR SHARE BUYBACK
The Korea Corporate Governance Forum, an advocacy group that comprises investors and lawyers, said on Wednesday it was opposed to SK Hynix's potential issuance of new shares for the U.S. listing, saying the move would dilute the value of existing shares, and undermine Korea's revised legislation to protect the interests of all shareholders.
The forum said SK Hynix will be able to generate more than enough excess cashflow even after making capital expenditure and R&D investments during 2026-28, and urged the company to buy back 10% to 15% of its stock and use most of that for the U.S. listing.
"The decision was disappointing," said Kim Hyun-su, a fund manager at Seoul-based IBK Asset Management. "I don't understand why they have to issue new shares - they can probably pursue the listing using existing shares instead. If they conduct buybacks and then seek the U.S. listing, it would make everyone happy."
($1 = 1,497.2300 won)
(Reporting by Cynthia Kim, Hyunjoo Jin, Jack Kim and Heejin Kim; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Lincoln Feast and Kevin Buckland.)
