The global memory chip shortage continues to escalate, with South Korean brokerage KB Securities highlighting in a Monday report that the storage chip market is confronting a severe supply crunch as artificial intelligence infrastructure investments expand at an unprecedented pace. Current inventory levels at both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have reportedly fallen to less than 10 days of supply, suggesting that actual sellable inventory next year could be significantly insufficient. Furthermore, due to limited wafer production capacity, the full-scale ramp-up of HBM4 is expected to inevitably reduce the available capacity for traditional DRAM products.
KB Securities projects that DRAM and NAND demand will outpace supply by more than 10 percentage points next year. Meanwhile, domestic DRAM leader Cxmt Corporation stated during its interim results briefing that the global DRAM supply shortage pattern is expected to persist into the second half of 2026. A Counterpoint Research report shows that Cxmt Corporation's global DRAM revenue market share in Q2 2026 has climbed from 4% in the same period last year to 10%, solidifying its position as the world's fourth-largest player. The company also emphasized its focus on the development and validation of domestic supply chains, effectively driving collaborative growth across core semiconductor equipment and other industrial chain segments.
UBS has determined that the global DRAM supply deficit will last at least until Q2 2028. Bank of America, on the other hand, expects DRAM spot prices to retain a further 10% to 20% upside in September. On today's trading floor, following the previous session's rebound, the STAR Chip sector has entered a phase of consolidation. The underlying index of the STAR Chip ETF Huabao (589190), which offers one of the lowest fee rates* among its peers, dipped nearly 2% in early trading before recovering to flat, and is currently down 0.98%. Shares of companies like VeriSilicon, Giantec Semiconductor, and Puya Semiconductor are trading against the broader trend, showing gains.
Donghai Securities noted that OpenAI's release of GPT-6Astra marks a shift in core capabilities away from traditional conversational generation and toward autonomous execution, with programming and cybersecurity capabilities being upgraded in tandem. Semiconductor demand remains relatively robust, driven by AI, and with capacity expansion on the supply side proceeding slowly, the industry's high level of activity is likely to continue. The brokerage advises investors to look for opportunities to buy on dips within AI computing power, memory, and optical chip industry chain segments, while also monitoring domestic substitution opportunities in semiconductor equipment, components, materials, advanced packaging, and analog chips.
With nearly 50% memory chip content*, the STAR Chip ETF Huabao (589190) passively tracks the STAR Chip Index, covering core segments of the chip industry chain with heavy weightings in memory and semiconductor equipment materials. This positioning effectively maps the development trends driven by the continuous upgrade of AI computing infrastructure, offering strong offensive attributes and 20CM high flexibility. Off-market investors can also consider the feeder fund 021225. Data sources include the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges and others.
Note 1: The memory chip content figure refers to the combined weight of constituent stocks in the STAR Chip ETF Huabao (589190) underlying index that are also part of the Memory Chip Index (980138.CNI), which stood at 49.25% as of August 31. Note 2: Public data shows that STAR Chip ETF Huabao (589190) has a management fee of 0.3%, a custodian fee of 0.08%, and a total comprehensive fee rate of 0.38%, making it one of the lowest-cost ETFs tracking the same underlying index. Institutional views are sourced from Donghai Securities' September 2026 report, "OpenAI Releases GPT-6Astra, Broadcom Raises AI Chip Revenue Forecast Significantly."
Risk Disclosure: The STAR Chip ETF Huabao (589190) and its feeder fund passively track the STAR Chip Index, which has a base date of December 31, 2019, and a launch date of June 13, 2022. The STAR Chip Index's returns over the past five full years are: 6.87% in 2021, -33.69% in 2022, 7.26% in 2023, 34.52% in 2024, and 61.33% in 2025. Its volatility over the same periods is: 34.32% in 2021, 36.60% in 2022, 28.64% in 2023, 44.67% in 2024, and 34.34% in 2025. Index constituent stocks are adjusted periodically according to index compilation rules; backtested historical performance does not indicate future index performance. This product is issued and managed by Huabao Fund; distribution agencies do not bear responsibility for the product's investment, redemption, or risk management. Investors should carefully read the Fund Contract, Prospectus, and Fund Product Information Summary to understand the risk-return characteristics and select products appropriate for their own risk tolerance. The fund manager rates this fund as R4, indicating medium-to-high risk, suitable for investors with a suitability rating of C4 or above. The performance of other funds managed by the fund manager does not constitute a guarantee of this fund's performance. Past performance does not predict future returns; funds involve risk, and investment must be undertaken with caution.
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