Major Japanese Chip Material Supplier Aims To Raise $3B In Japan's Biggest IPO Since 2018 - NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO)

JX Advanced Metals, a subsidiary of oil titan Eneos, is planning to raise an estimated ¥460 billion ($3 billion) through an initial public offering (IPO). This IPO is anticipated to be the largest in Japan since 2018.

What Happened: The firm has proposed a tentative price of ¥862 ($5.65) per share, as per a submission to the Finance Ministry. The final price will be determined on March 10, with JX Advanced Metals slated for its Tokyo Stock Exchange listing on March 19, reported The Japan Times on Friday.

If the IPO goes as planned, it will outshine last year’s significant IPO of subway operator Tokyo Metro and will be the most significant since SoftBank‘s listing in December 2018.

Why It Matters: The move by JX Advanced Metals comes at a time when the semiconductor industry is under pressure. JX holds approximately 60% of the global market share for sputtering target materials, critical for semiconductor circuitry. Thus, the IPO will also serve as an indicator of global demand for chips, a crucial element in the rapidly advancing AI sector.

On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump warned of potential tariffs of up to 100% on semiconductor exports from Taiwan to the U.S., aiming to incentivize chip manufacturers to relocate their production facilities to the United States. However, Bob O'Donnell, chief analyst and founder of TECHnalysis Research told the Central News Agency that economic sanctions won't instantly enhance chip manufacturing in the U.S., as constructing a chip fabrication facility takes billions of dollars and several years to complete. "It will have a huge negative impact on every tech-related industry," cautioned O'Donnell.

Meanwhile, a report by Reuters today suggests that The White House is looking to revise U.S. CHIPS and Science Act awards and has indicated potential delays in upcoming semiconductor funding distributions. The event is likely to have a major impact on the operations of U.S. chip makers like Nvidia NVDA, Qualcomm Inc. QCOM, and Broadcom Inc. AVGO.

The iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX gained over 6% over the past year.