Japanese chipmaker Kioxia Holdings made its debut on December 18 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of around 776 billion yen (US$4.96 billion) in what is one of the largest initial public offerings (IPOs) of the year in Japan. Kioxia is the third-largest producer of flash memory products, behind Samsung and SK Group, with 15.1% of the global market share in Q3 2024, according to the market research firm Trendforce.
Formerly a memory chip subsidiary of Toshiba, Kioxia debuted on the Tokyo Exchange, aiming to finance an increase in its production. The opening price was lower than the initial offering of 1,455 yen (US$9.29) per share.
The Japanese semiconductor company, based in Tokyo, is currently controlled by private capital, mostly in the hands of the investment fund Bain Capital, which informed the entity’s creditors of the plans for its IPO earlier this year. The public offering marks the third largest debut in the Tokyo Stock Exchange after subway operator Tokyo Metro and X-ray manufacturer Rigaku.
Among Kioxia’s most innovative plans is the company’s plan to increase production in September 2025 of its most advanced NAND type of flash products, which are set to deliver an 80% increase in data transfer speeds, according to the business. With the help of its new products, the business aims to double its current market share in the NAND segment from 9% to 17% within two to three years, according to Trendforce.
Tapping the booming semiconductor demand
With its stock market debut, after a failed attempt in 2020 due to supply chain issues in the chip industry caused by the pandemic and after calling off its IPO in October, Kioxia will take advantage of the growing demand for semiconductors driven by advancements in artificial intelligence and the proliferation of data centres.
Its debut will help the company carry out its growth strategy, which involves an investment of around 450 billion yen (US$2.87 billion) to produce next-generation memory chips.
Additionally, Kioxia will receive about 150 billion yen (US$960 million) in subsidies for Japan’s national semiconductor industry from the Japanese government as part of Tokyo’s strategy to support this sector. This also includes aid for the construction of chip plants in Japan by the Taiwanese TSMC and by Rapidus, a consortium formed by Japanese tech companies.
From Toshiba to Kioxia
Kioxia Holdings was known until 2019 as Toshiba Memory Corporation, a company that spun off from the Toshiba conglomerate in 2016 due to the severe financial trouble the parent company faced because of its poor performance in the nuclear energy sector. The new name, Kioxia, combines the Japanese word for “memory” and the Greek word for “value.”
The Japanese firm also began negotiating a merger with U.S.-based Western Digital in 2022, a company with which it collaborates in chip production in Japan. However, this plan has been stalled since last year due to opposition from SK Hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chip maker, which competes with both companies and is an investor in the Japanese firm.
