ChangXin Technology (688825.SH), a Chinese memory chip maker, started trading on July 27 and closed at RMB 49 a share, up 465.82% on the day, with a market capitalization of RMB 3.28 trillion. According to the source material, the deal set several records in the A-share market: the largest IPO in STAR Market history, the first A-share stock to open with a market value above RMB 3 trillion, the company that moved past Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to rank first by market capitalization in A shares, and a new listing with more than RMB 100 billion in single-day turnover.
At the closing price, one subscription lot would have generated a net gain of about RMB 20,000. The source says founder Zhu Yiming, through his holdings in ChangXin Technology and GigaDevice (603986.SH), had identifiable paper wealth nearing RMB 100 billion, while 12 other directors, executives and core technical staff held stakes worth more than RMB 100 million each.
Employee ownership and incentive shares drew market attention
The source says ChangXin Technology’s two employee stock ownership plans covered 6,760 participation slots in total. Zhu transferred 768 million shares at no cost for future employee incentives. At the July 27 closing price, those shares were worth more than RMB 37.6 billion, and the related shares are subject to a three-year lock-up. The report says the arrangement may mark the largest personal equity incentive package in A-share history.
Prospectus data cited in the source show that the company had already implemented two employee stock ownership plans before listing, covering management personnel, key business staff and core technical employees. The two plans were carried out over four years. As of the end of 2025, ChangXin Technology had 19,298 employees. Using the closing valuation for that share pool and dividing it evenly across the workforce, the source calculates an average of RMB 1.95 million per employee.
Separately, 377 senior managers and core employees joined the strategic placement through four dedicated asset-management plans, with total allocated value of about RMB 1.593 billion. Based on the placement data cited in the report, employees allocated RMB 2 million or more would have paper assets above RMB 10 million, and the market estimated that at least 237 people crossed that threshold.
NIO booked about RMB 740 million in paper gains
According to Jiemian News, NIO appeared on the list of strategic investors in the IPO and committed RMB 158 million, with an 18-month lock-up. Based on the issue price of RMB 8.66 per share, NIO subscribed for about 18.2448 million shares. Using the RMB 49 closing price, the company’s paper gain was about RMB 740 million, with a return above 465%.
A blogger also posted photos, cited in the source, showing that ChangXin Technology recently held a listing appreciation dinner in Shanghai under the theme “Forging for ten years, opening a new future.” NIO founder William Li was seen at the event holding a glass of wine.
Disclosed information cited in the report describes NIO as a cornerstone strategic partner for ChangXin Technology’s DRAM business. The two sides are set to work on existing automotive-grade LPDDR4X and LPDDR5X products. Responding to media reports that NIO had become a strategic investor in ChangXin Technology, Li said: “The cooperation is progressing smoothly at present, and cooperation with ChangXin Technology helps stabilize NIO’s supply chain stability.”
The source also says Li mentioned the partnership several times this year. After NIO’s one-millionth vehicle rolled off the line in January, he said rising memory prices were the biggest cost pressure this year, adding that “higher memory prices are good for Hefei because ChangXin Memory is very close by and is China’s hottest technology company.” After the launch event for the Onvo L60 in June, he said: “ChangXin Memory’s factory is very close to us, just a few hundred meters away, maybe about one kilometer. We are both in the northern section of the development zone, and progress on in-vehicle validation for the LPDDR5X we are working on has been quite smooth.”
Xiaomi-linked company received the same share allotment
The source says a Wuhan-based company also took part in the strategic placement and was allocated 18.2448 million shares. At the issue price of RMB 8.66 a share, its first-day paper gain reached RMB 736 million.
The company was identified as Wuhan Yibabayi Ling Enterprise Management Co., Ltd., established in 2021 with an office in Wuhan East Lake High-tech Development Zone. Tianyancha data cited in the report show that it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Xiaomi Technology. Xiaomi Technology’s chairman is Lei Jun, who holds 97.48% of Xiaomi Technology, according to the source.
Public funds sat on RMB 49.79 billion in static gains, private funds on RMB 6.509 billion
According to Cailian Press, statistics based on offline placement details showed that 5,419 placement accounts under 93 public funds were allocated a combined 1.234 billion shares, translating into about RMB 49.790 billion in static gains. E Fund, China Southern Fund and ICBC Credit Suisse Fund Management recorded paper gains of about RMB 6.803 billion, RMB 5.598 billion and RMB 4.712 billion, respectively.
For private funds, 2,460 placement accounts under 113 managers were allocated 161 million shares, with paper gains of about RMB 6.509 billion. Jiukun posted about RMB 621 million, while Huanfang Quant and Shanghai Yanfu each recorded about RMB 619 million, and Hainan Century Frontier about RMB 605 million. The source notes that these gains were calculated on the full allotment, and 70% of the shares are subject to a six-month lock-up.
DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng joined the offline placement
According to Guanyixian, DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng stood to make RMB 817 million from the subscription.
ChangXin Technology’s preliminary offline allocation results, disclosed on July 20, show that two private fund managers controlled by Liang — Ningbo Huanfang Quant and Zhejiang Jiuzhang Asset — obtained allocations for a combined 194 products, receiving 20.2497 million shares in total. At the issue price of RMB 8.66 a share, the total subscription amount was about RMB 175 million.
Liang participated through the offline placement channel. Under current rules cited in the source, 70% of the allocated shares are locked up for six months, while the remaining 30% are not subject to lock-up.
Insiders with holdings above RMB 100 million
The source says 14 directors, senior executives, core technical staff and their close relatives indirectly held a combined 2.034 billion shares in ChangXin Technology. At RMB 49 per share, six executives had stakes worth more than RMB 1 billion.
The holdings listed in the report include:
- Zhu Yiming, chairman, with 1.599 billion shares worth RMB 78.351 billion.
- GigaDevice disclosures from May 2026, cited in the source, show Zhu held about 5.13% of the company. As of the July 27 close, GigaDevice’s market capitalization was about RMB 304.6 billion, implying a paper value of about RMB 15.626 billion for Zhu’s stake. Combined with his ChangXin holdings, the identifiable paper value of his stakes in the two companies totaled about RMB 93.654 billion.
- Cao Kanyu, director, president and core technical staff member, with 212 million shares worth RMB 10.388 billion.
- Zhu Wenju, executive vice president, with 53.338 million shares worth RMB 2.614 billion.
- Zhang Yu, co-president, with 50.598 million shares worth RMB 2.479 billion.
- Huang Danyang, senior vice president and finance head, with 36.284 million shares worth RMB 1.778 billion.
- Li Hongwen, senior vice president and core technical staff member, with 27.87 million shares worth RMB 1.366 billion.
- Yuan Yuan, vice president and board secretary, with holdings worth RMB 993 million.
- Zhao Lun, general manager, with holdings worth RMB 607 million.
- Feng Pengxi, senior vice president and head of strategic investment, with holdings worth RMB 266 million.
- Xie Shumin, director, with holdings worth RMB 187 million.
- Three core technical staff members — TANTECKHONG (Chen Dehong), Tang Yanzhe and Wang Dan — also had holdings worth more than RMB 100 million.
Country Garden’s prior exit became another focus
The listing also revived attention on changes in ChangXin Technology’s shareholder base. Public information cited in the source shows that Country Garden Venture Capital Technology entered during ChangXin Technology’s Series B financing in 2021. In 2023, it transferred its stake to Huilbi No. 5 Fund, an affiliated fund.
In December 2024, Huilbi No. 5, an affiliate of Country Garden Venture Capital, transferred its 1.56% stake in ChangXin Technology to Hefei Jianchang for RMB 2 billion, or RMB 2.22 per share. Based on ChangXin Technology’s closing market capitalization of RMB 3.28 trillion on listing day, that 1.56% stake would now be worth RMB 51.168 billion. Compared with the RMB 2 billion transfer price, Huilbi No. 5 missed out on roughly RMB 49.168 billion in paper gains.
According to Blue Whale News, a person close to Country Garden told reporters that Country Garden had originally invested RMB 2 billion in ChangXin Technology, but later returned the shares at cost before 2021 because of liquidity pressure, in order to repay public debt and support unfinished-home delivery. The source also says the company’s venture capital team was dissolved in 2021 after the broader liquidity crisis hit.
Public information cited in the report shows Country Garden Venture Capital was established in 2019. Its early investment areas included technology, consumer, industry-chain and healthcare projects, covering both early-stage VC and later-stage PE. It had invested in more than 90 companies, including 10 IPOs and 26 unicorns. Disclosed portfolio companies include Dreame Technology, SJ Semi, Hozon intelligent driving-related company Hongjing Zhijia, SVOLT Energy, Biren Technology, Kuaishou Technology and BYD Semiconductor.
Blue Whale News also quoted the same person close to Country Garden as saying the firm’s venture investment team had shown strong judgment, with more than 90% of completed projects profitable, no major loss-making investments, and even the weakest project exiting at break-even.