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Emma Ma

In line with Beijing’s goal of tech self sufficiency, Chinese investors have propelled ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) to become the largest mainland-listed firm, with its market value topping 3 trillion yuan (US$443 billion).
This flood of capital lays bare an emerging shift in China’s equity investment landscape: many of the newcomers actually represent the country’s old money – state-owned banks.
CXMT is China’s largest maker of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips, competing directly with South Korean chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix and US-based Micron Technology.
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China Construction Bank (CCB), Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), Bank of China (BoC) and Bank of Communications, are among CXMT’s equity investors via their subsidiaries, according to the firm’s initial public offering prospectus.

Under mainland financial rules, commercial banks are prohibited from making direct investments and may only deploy equity capital through their in-house Asset Investment Companies (AICs).
Data from Chinese corporate information provider Tianyancha showed that CCB and ABC were the first movers. In late 2020, CXMT disclosed the two banks as equity investors at a time when the DRAM maker was still posting losses. CCB holds the largest stake among the five banks at 1.71 per cent while BoC owns the smallest position at 0.38 per cent.
“The latest capital increase for CXMT closed last June at a price of 2.63 yuan per share,” Wang Xianshuang, assistant director at Shanghai-based Guolian Minsheng Securities Research Institute wrote in a May report. “Valued against this entry cost, the returns look sizable. If CXMT’s market capitalization hits 3 trillion yuan, projected gains for CCB would reach 41 billion yuan.”
The gain would represent approximately 12 per cent of the lender’s 2025 full-year net profit attributable to parent shareholders. Wang’s projections showed that returns for BoC would amount to 3.74 per cent of its last year’s net profit attributable to parent shareholders. For the moment, however, these attractive returns remain on paper as investors are subject to a minimum 12-month lock-up period.
Hefei-based CXMT offered its shares at 8.66 yuan in its initial public offering. The stock was trading at 47 yuan at the market close on Tuesday, giving it a valuation of 3.14 trillion yuan.
The state banks served not only as backers for the chipmaker but also as its lenders.

“That is what we call debt-equity combination financing, a framework we have rolled out specifically for technology firms,” said an official overseeing lending operations at ICBC Shanghai branch, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly on the matter.
“If we can reach consensus with our AIC and see upside potential in a tech company, we will extend credit to it. This structure gives us greater confidence in the safety of our loans. Meanwhile, financing the tech company’s growth will in turn underpin our investment arm’s holdings.”
Separately, “due-diligence conducted by lenders can also offer valuable insights to CXMT”, according to Qi Xing, chief banking analyst at Northeast Securities. “That explains why this model has gained rapid traction among banks and their AICs.”
Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC), a domestic flash memory chipmaker, is now preparing for its debut on the Star Market. Wang from Guolian Minsheng Securities noted that five state-owned lenders were also among its equity investors. “These potential investment returns are not just a reflection of China’s economic transformation and industrial upgrading. They also represent rewards for banks ramping up support for technological innovation,” he said.
Starting in 2017, financial regulators granted five state-owned lenders permission to establish AICs, with the primary mandate of rolling out debt-equity swaps. Three years later, the institutions were cleared to conduct equity investments. Currently there are nine AICs operating nationwide.
According to Shenzhen-based state media outlet Securities Times, the nine institutions completed 58 investments in the first half of this year, a tally close to the full-year figure for 2024. Proposed investment commitments under framework agreements reached nearly 100 billion yuan in 2025, equivalent to 10 per cent of total new equity investment volume for that year.
That was “a natural outcome”, according to analyst Qi. “This year, the artificial intelligence cycle has continued to pick up steam, drawing capital of all varieties,” Qi said.
“For banks, amid ongoing economic transformation, higher-risk tech firms are naturally a better fit for equity investment than traditional lending. On top of all that, policy support and understanding act as the catalyst here.”


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CCB holds the largest CXMT stake among the five banks at 1.714 per cent while BoC owns the smallest position at 0.38 per cent


CCB holds the largest CXMT stake among the five banks at 1.714 per cent while BoC owns the smallest position at 0.38 per cent.


China’s state banks set to profit from early CXMT equity bets amid national tech drive

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}CCB holds the largest CXMT stake among the five banks at 1.714 per cent while BoC owns the smallest position at 0.38 per cent

CCB holds the largest CXMT stake among the five banks at 1.714 per cent while BoC owns the smallest position at 0.38 per cent