00:00So who are CXMT and why are DRAM chips such hot property?
00:05So DRAM stands for Dynamic Random Access Memory.
00:08Basically, it gives our computers, smartphones and servers space to think.
00:13Opening and running any application needs memory.
00:16The more DRAM you have, the more applications you can run at the same time.
00:21So CXMT is China's leading maker of DRAM memory chips
00:25and is seen as a symbol of Beijing's push towards technological self-reliance.
00:30The global DRAM market has long been dominated by Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron Technology.
00:37CXMT is the world's fourth largest and had a market share of nearly 8% in 2025.
00:44What Beijing wants to reduce is dependence on foreign chips
00:47and is looking for CXMT to be a competitive domestic producer
00:52in a field currently dominated by foreign companies.
00:55And I've been speaking to Rob Nides from the London-based tech venture capital firm, H3 Capital.
01:02I think it's a natural maturation of the market.
01:05I think like any established economy,
01:07you're seeing these building blocks being built out more and more domestically.
01:09So there's no external constraint or external risk.
01:12So it's purely natural to me.
01:14And the domestic market is huge.
01:16So this company will support a very fast and growing market.
01:19And Rob, you know, AI models usually grab the headlines,
01:22but memory chips rarely do.
01:24So how critical is DRAM to the next phase of AI development?
01:28It's like saying how critical are bricks to buildings.
01:31I think they're absolutely essential.
01:32They're pretty much the main thing that a computer uses besides the pure CPU.
01:37You can't understate the importance.
01:38They're used everywhere.
01:39So I think having this kind of foundry that can make the chips
01:41from high-end to low-end, high-quality to low-quality,
01:44is, again, pretty essential.
01:45And it's a pretty building block-oriented company, like an NVIDIA or a Micron.
01:49So compared with global leaders such as Samsung, SK, Hynix, and Micron,
01:55in terms of technology,
01:56so CSMT's market share is about 8%, about 9%.
02:00So how do you see the potential of the company?
02:05I think it's the classic disruption theory that, you know,
02:07with any new commodity supplier,
02:09they come up by undercutting on the lower-end chips
02:11and build their way up to higher-value chips.
02:13It's what Intel did in the late 70s and 80s.
02:16And I think you'll see the exact same thing here,
02:17that the technology may not be absolutely cutting-edge right now,
02:21but they'll build and quickly catch up to the Samsungs of this world in due course.
02:25And do you have a timeline?
02:26Do you know how long it would take, probably,
02:28for the company to catch up with the top players?
02:30I would suspect, well,
02:32barring any sort of international interference in terms of selling components,
02:35you know, to make these chips,
02:36you also need really high-end lithography
02:38and these parts that come from often the Netherlands.
02:40So barring any other international political scenarios,
02:44you know, this is probably within a decade, maybe sooner.
02:46But of course, you do have Western governments
02:48that see a lot of strategic value in potentially blocking these too.
02:51So it'll be interesting how fast
02:52and how quickly they can purchase their own complete supply of manufacturing parts.
02:57And looking beyond this IPO,
02:59so what does it tell us about the broader direction of China's industrial policy?
03:05I think it's harder to tell from this IPO.
03:07It was a very small float,
03:08and frankly, it was priced very low.
03:10If you look at the market cap estimated at IPO,
03:13it was about one and a half times revenue of the current year,
03:16which is quite low of a multiple for any sort of tech company.
03:19So I think it's hard to project this out,
03:20but again, I think it shows national winners being built
03:23that are able to stand on an international course rather quickly.
03:27Thank you very much.
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