Elite company: the listed firms that were China’s most valuable before CXMT

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Jul 31, 2026 #A-shares, #Agricultural Bank of China, #ChangXin Memory Technologies, #China, #China Construction Bank, #Citigroup, #Guizhou State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, #Hong Kong, #Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, #Kweichow Moutai, #PetroChina, #Richard Nixon, #SCMP Business, #Shanghai, #Sinopec, #US

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Elite company: the listed firms that were China’s most valuable before CXMT

Chipmaker’s ascent to highest market capitalisation ends two decades on top for energy conglomerates, lenders and consumer brands

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The state-backed maker of memory chips saw its market capitalisation surpass US$592 billion on Friday. Photo: VCG via Getty Images

Judy XuePublished: 11:00am, 31 Jul 2026After soaring 466 per cent in its Shanghai trading debut on Monday, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) became the most valuable company on mainland China’s stock market – the first semiconductor firm to hold the top spot in the market’s 35-year history.

The state-backed maker of memory chips saw its market capitalisation surpass 4 trillion yuan (US$592 billion) on Friday amid a broader chip stock surge. It first ascended to the top of the list on Monday, ending its first trading day with a value of 3.28 trillion yuan after hitting 3.68 trillion yuan amid unprecedented turnover during the day.

CXMT’s top ranking ends two decades of market-cap dominance by state-owned energy conglomerates, lenders and traditional consumer brands on China’s onshore stock market.

Below are some of the defining corporate giants that have held the top spot among mainland-listed, yuan-denominated stocks, also known as A shares.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China

The state-controlled commercial lender had the largest onshore market capitalisation in 2006, from 2015 to 2019, and again in 2024.

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