Chipmaker Kioxia Faces Tough IPO On Tokyo Bourse

Kioxia Holdings, expected to be a shining debutant in a booming Japanese market, may face a colder reception than anticipated, Yuki Furukawa and Yasutaka Tamura reported for Bloomberg News.

Kioxia is a diminished force compared to its heyday. I Photo: Business Wire

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The pioneer of NAND flash memory — essential for smartphones and data-center servers — is set to list on Wednesday after years of complex negotiations involving Bain Capital, SK Hynix, Western Digital, and the Japanese government.

Its IPO has been promoted as a potential turning point for a company born from Toshiba, which invented NAND flash in the 1980s and contributed to Japan’s economic miracle.

However, Kioxia — whose name merges the Japanese word for memory with the Greek word for value — is a diminished force compared to its heyday. Investment slowed as parent company Toshiba grappled with scandals and heavy losses tied to its nuclear subsidiary, Westinghouse.

This delay allowed South Korean competitors like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, backed by Seoul’s robust support, to surge ahead. The global post-COVID-19 smartphone slump has further impacted Kioxia, wiping out growth opportunities, as reported by The Japan Times.