South Korea's SK Hynix to opt for Nasdaq for planned US listing, sources say

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Nasdaq's tech focus and passive fund flows likely drove decision -analysts
Planned U.S. listing expected to raise SK Hynix's profile among global investors and expand its shareholder base
By Heekyong Yang and Yantoultra Ngui

    SEOUL/SINGAPORE, June 12 (Reuters) - South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix 000660.KS is looking to choose the Nasdaq for its planned U.S. listing, two sources familiar with the matter said, opting for the technology-heavy bourse to capitalize on investor appetite for AI-linked stocks.

        The planned listing as early as August comes after a 230% surge in SK Hynix's share price this year, lifting its market value above $1 trillion in May. The U.S. listing is expected to broaden the company's investor base and raise its profile among global investors.
The company selected Nasdaq over the New York Stock Exchange, said the sources, who declined to be identified because the information was not public.
SK Hynix declined to comment. Nasdaq was not immediately available ​for comment outside business hours. 
Nasdaq is home to many of the world's largest technology firms and chipmakers, including Nvidia NVDA.O, Microsoft MSFT.O, Amazon.com AMZN.O and Alphabet GOOGL.O as well as  SK Hynix's smaller rival, Micron MU.O.
Memory-chip stocks have sharply outperformed this year, with Micron up about 248% and the Nasdaq Composite gaining around 11%. 

        The exchange was also the preferred listing venue for Elon Musk's rocket and AI company SpaceX SPCX.O, which is set to begin trading later on Friday.
        
BETTING ON AI-LED VALUATIONS
As the world's second-largest memory chipmaker and a key supplier to Nvidia, SK Hynix has been a major beneficiary of the AI boom due to its dominant position in high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI servers.

        Reuters has reported that SK Hynix received "tremendously positive" feedback on the U.S. listing plan, citing strong AI demand and its competitive position in the memory-chip market.
Analysts said Nasdaq has historically assigned higher valuations to technology and growth companies than the NYSE, and SK Hynix might have chosen Nasdaq in part by looking at peer Micron's valuation. 
"Passive investment funds now account for a larger share of global investment flows than active funds, with a significant portion of those passive flows concentrated in Nasdaq-listed stocks, making the exchange particularly attractive for technology companies seeking to broaden their investor base," said Kim Sunwoo, a senior analyst at Meritz Securities.
Passive funds track stock indexes rather than selecting individual stocks, and many technology-focused indexes and ETFs are heavily weighted toward Nasdaq-listed companies.
SK Hynix said in March it had confidentially filed for a U.S. listing. A source said at the time that the offering could raise as much as $14 billion.
One source said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is likely to approve SK Hynix's American depositary receipt listing during the week of June 22.
The company has not publicly disclosed the size of the planned listing or the number of shares to be offered.

 (Reporting by Heekyong Yang in Seoul and Yantoultra Ngui in Singapore;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
 ((Heekyong.Yang@thomsonreuters.com;))