CXMT overtakes Tencent as most valuable Chinese firm

CXMT has overtaken Hong Kong-listed Tencent Holdings as the world’s most valuable Chinese company, underscoring the AI‑driven frenzy fuelling demand for memory‑chip stocks. 

CXMT, which debuted in Shanghai in July and quickly became China’s largest onshore-listed company, fell 1.2 per cent on Thursday (Aug 13), leaving its market capitalisation at US$524 billion. Even so, it became more valuable than Tencent, whose valuation slid to US$510 billion amid mounting concerns over its growing artificial intelligence investments. 

The crossover reflects investors’ continued preference for AI-linked hardware over traditional internet champions. CXMT has become a proxy trade for the China’s AI ambitions and semiconductor self-sufficiency push, with shares up 8 per cent following its initial 467 per cent debut surge. 

“CXMT exceeding Tencent is a message from the market – chips are the new clicks,” said Gary Tan, a portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments. “Our sense is the gap between the two will widen as agentic AI take increasing share of internet flows.”

The Hefei, Anhui-based company is also the world’s fourth biggest producer of dynamic random-access memory, which is essential in everything from smartphones to advance AI servers.

Adding to momentum to CXMT’s stock, MSCI announced in July that it has begun to include the firm in the MSCI China All Shares Index, with the changes taking place on Aug 10. 

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Meanwhile, Tencent, whose assets include messaging app WeChat and game developer Riot Games, has lost ground, with shares down more than 26 per cent in 2026. The tech giant more than doubled its AI spending in the June quarter as it faces pressure to catch up to rivals, which led to a 4.5 per cent decline in its Hong Kong-listed stock on Thursday. BLOOMBERG