SK Hynix may raise up to $10 billion from US listing, Korea Economic Daily says

SEOUL, March 24 (Reuters) – South Korea’s SK Hynix is considering raising 10 trillion to 15 trillion won ($10.03 billion) through a potential U.S. listing, aiming to expand production capacity for advanced memory chips, the Korea Economic Daily reported. 

A U.S. listing would give the Nvidia supplier access to a wider pool of capital and could help narrow a gap in its valuation compared with global peers such as Micron, the newspaper said. 

Here are some details:

* SK Hynix plans to issue new shares to support a listing ofAmerican depositary receipts (ADRs), with funds likely to beused to build artificial intelligence infrastructure and expandcapacity for memory products, the newspaper reported, citingunnamed industry sources.  * The chipmaker, in a statement to Reuters, said that thecompany is reviewing various measures to enhance shareholdervalue, including an ADR listing, but added that nothing has beenfinalised.  * SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won last week said SK Hynixis reviewing a potential U.S. ADR listing to broaden its globalinvestor base beyond Korea and increase exposure to globalinvestors.  * In January, SK Hynix said it would cancel about 12.2trillion won worth of treasury shares, equivalent to 2.1% oftotal shares outstanding, in a move aimed to boost shareholdervalue.  * SK Hynix ranks No.1 in the high-bandwidth memory chipmarket, used in AI, with a 57% share. It also holds a 32% shareof the global DRAM market, used in AI chipsets and electronicdevices, making it the second-largest player after cross-townrival Samsung Electronics, according to Counterpoint.  * Shares of SK Hynix closed up 5.7%, compared with a 2.7%rise in the benchmark KOSPI. 

($1 = 1,495.0000 won)

(Reporting by Heekyong Yang; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)