Recent visits to Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei market reveal a dramatic surge in memory chip prices. Multiple merchants specializing in storage products reported that spot prices for certain memory chips have risen over 300% since September last year, driven primarily by surging demand for artificial intelligence computing infrastructure. Industry observers have dubbed this price rally a "super cycle," sparking debates over its duration and the opportunities it presents for Chinese memory manufacturers.
A salesperson at a booth in the Huaqiang Electronics World building, identified as Cheng Xiaodie, noted that NAND Flash memory, which was priced at over 300 yuan in September last year, now sells for more than 1,000 yuan. Despite having experienced several memory price hikes over her career, she described this as the most significant increase she has ever witnessed. A local consumer, Wang Bai, who visited the market during the summer break to upgrade his computer, found that the combined cost of new DRAM and NAND Flash had risen by nearly 3,000 yuan compared to his earlier price checks.
Many dealers are cautious about stockpiling to mitigate risks. A dealer surnamed Li explained that inventory is tight, and they source products from upstream suppliers based on customer orders. "Quotes from upstream change daily, so our prices to customers fluctuate accordingly. While some memory product prices have eased slightly from their peaks this year, they remain at elevated levels," Li said. According to a report from TrendForce, contract prices for general-purpose DRAM rose by 58% to 63% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter of 2026, while NAND Flash contract prices increased by 70% to 75% over the same period.
Notably, alongside international brands like Samsung, SanDisk, and Kingston, a growing number of domestic memory product retail outlets are emerging in the Huaqiangbei market. "Our memory products are designed to compete with overseas counterparts, and many have achieved similar quality standards. An increasing number of downstream customers are adopting and trusting our products," said Xie Yuan, a sales engineer at the Guangdong Huaguan Semiconductor Co., Ltd. retail outlet in the market. More domestic terminal manufacturers, including those in the smartphone and PC sectors, are integrating locally produced memory into their core supply chains, providing critical growth opportunities for Chinese memory firms. "Leveraging advantages in cost, pricing, and delivery stability, we are rapidly integrating into downstream customers' supply chains, serving not only domestic clients but also global customers," Xie added.
Listings on the Rise
In the global memory industry, international giants like Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron, and SanDisk have long dominated. However, during this "super cycle," Chinese memory companies have ascended to the core competitive landscape. ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) stands as a prime example. As a key player in the global mainstream DRAM market, CXMT's production capacity has surged to fourth place worldwide. The company made its official debut on the STAR Market on July 27, and by August 2, its market capitalization had reached 3.61 trillion yuan, making it the most valuable listed company on the A-share market. The listing adds significant momentum for CXMT's accelerated growth. The company plans to utilize the raised funds for three major projects: upgrading and transforming its memory wafer manufacturing production lines, advancing DRAM memory technology, and conducting forward-looking research and development for dynamic random-access memory.
"CXMT is committed to a path of independent innovation," stated Zhu Yiming, Chairman of CXMT, during an investor conference. "We will continue to invest in high-level technology R&D, relentlessly iterate our processes and products, solidify our core technology foundation, and accelerate our capacity layout." Experts believe that CXMT's listing will have a ripple effect across the industry. "As a leading enterprise, CXMT's fundraising will drive the development of upstream sectors like equipment, materials, and electronic design automation," said An Guangyong, an expert from the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce's Credit Management Committee. "This leading-edge effect will foster collaboration across the entire chain, from wafer manufacturing and controller design to advanced packaging, testing, and module integration, forming a technology-sharing, risk-sharing industry consortium and pushing the ecosystem toward higher evolution."
Other high-quality storage industry chain companies are also accelerating their pushes into the capital market. In April, Shenzhen Dapu Microelectronics Co., Ltd. was listed on the ChiNext board. In June, Shenzhen Seagate Technology Co., Ltd.'s ChiNext IPO application was accepted. In July, Shenzhen Hongxin Microelectronics Co., Ltd. submitted its second listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, several already-listed memory industry chain companies reported strong performance in the first half of the year. Shenzhen Biwin Storage Technology Co., Ltd. (Biwin Storage) forecasted in its semi-annual performance report that it expects revenue of 15 billion to 16 billion yuan for the first half of 2026, a year-on-year increase of 283.40% to 308.96%, with net profit attributable to parent company shareholders of 7 billion to 7.5 billion yuan. Montage Technology Co., Ltd. expects first-half revenue of approximately 3.335 billion yuan, up 26.6% year-on-year, and net profit attributable to listed company shareholders of 1.9 billion to 2.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 63.9% to 81.2%.
Ding Zhenyu, a senior investment advisor at Jufu Investment, explained that the accelerated IPO pace of industry chain companies and the earnings explosions among listed firms are driven by deep-seated factors. On the demand side, AI server storage requirements far exceed those of traditional servers, with global computing infrastructure construction fueling rigid demand for memory. On the supply side, overseas giants are prioritizing AI-specific storage, reducing capital expenditure on general-purpose memory, and industry inventory continues to deplete. The supply-demand gap is pushing up product prices, which in turn is boosting revenue and profit recovery for listed companies. On the industry chain front, CXMT and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., Ltd. (YMTC) are continuously expanding production and tackling core processes. These companies need stable profits to sustain high R&D spending, allowing domestic players to use profitability accumulation to continuously break through technological barriers, narrowing the gap with overseas giants and transitioning from capacity catch-up to technology parity.
Industry Ecosystem Matures
How long will this "super cycle" last? "Since September 2025, the sharp increase in demand for memory in servers has led to supply shortages and price hikes, driving the entire memory industry chain. We expect structural shortages to persist throughout 2026," said Xu Jiayuan, an analyst at TrendForce. According to TrendForce's latest memory industry research, the DRAM market will maintain a tight supply situation in 2027, with prices likely to remain strong. However, for NAND Flash, with new capacity concentrated and end-user consumer demand weakening, supply is expected to become more relaxed in the second half of 2027, potentially leading to price correction pressures.
How can companies seize the opportunities within this "super cycle"? Listed companies are already taking action. Shenzhen Kaifa Technology Co., Ltd. (Kaifa Technology) is closely following the memory semiconductor market and customer needs, accelerating the expansion of high-quality capacity, and continuously improving its comprehensive capabilities in technology R&D, engineering processes, and operational delivery. The company is also attracting professional talent and leaders in packaging and testing to further strengthen its full-service capabilities in advanced packaging and testing. A Kaifa Technology representative stated that the company's capacity is steadily increasing, and it will orderly advance its capacity expansion plans based on industry demand and business layout. Biwin Storage is keenly capturing market demand during the "super cycle" by expanding its business across multiple dimensions. The company has made strategic investments in server storage solutions and has already launched several products. "We see that under the wave of AI, demand for server SSDs and memory modules is rising rapidly. We will continue to focus on this area, aiming to make this business segment a new profit growth driver," said Sun Chengsi, Chairman of Biwin Storage. The company's wafer-level packaging and testing business is steadily progressing through sample development and validation according to customer schedules. Through this project, Biwin Storage aims to upgrade from a storage solutions provider to a full-stack technology service provider offering "storage + advanced packaging and testing."
Industry observers note that during this "super cycle," many high-quality Chinese memory companies have achieved a role transition from "alternative" to "trusted," shifting their competitive logic from price-for-market share to value-based trust. Furthermore, China's memory industry chain, encompassing wafer manufacturing, controller self-development, advanced packaging and testing, and module manufacturing, has achieved vertical integration, forming an increasingly robust ecosystem. Nevertheless, all parties in the domestic memory industry chain must continue to accumulate foundational research experience and strengthen collaborative innovation to build a sustainable "moat" for the industry.
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