Report: SK Hynix Plans US ADR Listing, Issues New Shares to Raise 10-15 Trillion Won, Full Speed Bet on HBM Capacity Expansion

Ask AI · Cancel treasury stock before issuing new shares. How does this respond to market concerns and optimize governance?

SK Hynix is advancing its plan to list in the U.S., intending to raise funds through issuing new shares and American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) in the U.S. capital markets. The proceeds will be fully invested in expanding high-bandwidth memory (HBM) capacity and AI infrastructure.

According to Korea’s Economic Daily on March 23, the new share issuance will account for about 2.4% of the total shares, with expected fundraising between 10 trillion and 15 trillion Korean won. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won publicly stated at NVIDIA’s annual developer conference GTC 2026 on March 16 that the company is considering proceeding with an ADR listing.

The market significance of this listing plan goes beyond capital raising itself. Industry analysts point out that an ADR listing could provide SK Hynix with an opportunity to reassess its valuation—currently its price-to-earnings ratio is about 5.7, roughly half of Micron Technology’s 12.1.

If successfully included in major global indices like the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX), it could also attract large-scale passive fund inflows.

Prioritizing Cancellation of Treasury Stock, Followed by New Share Issuance

SK Hynix’s choice to issue new shares instead of utilizing treasury stock has specific reasons. The company initially considered promoting the ADR listing using approximately 2.4% of its treasury shares. However, this move raised market concerns, suggesting the company might be trying to avoid the mandatory cancellation of treasury shares.

To address external concerns, the company proactively canceled about 2.1% of its treasury stock on March 9, worth approximately 12.24 trillion Korean won. Currently, there are no available treasury shares.

Against this backdrop, the company has shifted to issuing new shares to advance its listing plan, with an issuance scale of about 2.4% of total shares, roughly aligning with the previously canceled treasury stock proportion. Reports indicate SK Hynix is expected to soon select underwriters and officially initiate the ADR listing process.

Funds Focused on AI Infrastructure, Accelerating Capacity Expansion

SK Hynix explicitly positions this financing as a key move to strengthen its dominant position in the global AI semiconductor market.

Reportedly, the 100 trillion to 150 trillion Korean won (equivalent in USD) raised will mainly be invested in AI infrastructure projects centered on the Yongin semiconductor cluster, with a total planned investment of about 600 trillion Korean won.

Industry insiders say that the company is still weighing shareholder reactions and market opinion when determining the final issuance scale, and there is potential for further expansion of the fundraising in the future.

ADR Structure Design Could Aid Valuation Reassessment

In terms of operational structure, the newly issued shares are expected not to circulate in the Korean domestic market but will be directly deposited into a Korean securities depository. Then, a U.S. bank will issue ADR certificates using these shares as collateral, enabling trading and circulation in the U.S. market.

The potential value of this structure lies in the fact that if SK Hynix’s ADRs meet the criteria for inclusion in major global indices like the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, it could trigger passive index fund rebalancing, further increasing the company’s influence among international institutional investors.

Currently, the roughly onefold PE ratio gap between SK Hynix and Micron Technology also provides some room for valuation recovery.