AI Chip Concept Stocks Watch丨SMIC (00981.HK) Rises Over 2%, Domestic Solutions Expected to Capture Nearly 90% Share of China's High‑End AI Chip Market in 2026

NewTimeSpace (newtimespace.com) reported that on August 12, 2026, the chip theme rebounded, with SMIC (00981.HK) fluctuating higher. As of 13:30, the stock was quoted at HKD 66.700, up 2.14%.

On the news front, SK Hynix has resumed construction of Plant 2 at its NAND flash memory production base in Dalian, China, expanding capacity by approximately 50%. SK Hynix plans to introduce semiconductor production equipment by the end of this year and commence official production in the first half of next year. The new production line will have a wafer input volume of approximately 50,000 wafers per month.

In addition, TrendForce released a report stating that in China's high‑end AI chip market in 2026, domestic solutions are expected to capture nearly 90% of the share, leaving only about 10% of the market space for overseas solutions such as Nvidia and AMD. Hongta Securities stated that AI‑driven demand is pushing up prices of microelectronic products, with industry sales reaching new highs. According to SIA data, global semiconductor sales in the second quarter of 2026 reached USD 403.3 billion, up 35.1% quarter‑on‑quarter, setting a new quarterly record. Since the beginning of 2026, prices for almost all types of microelectronic products have risen, with AI accelerators, HBM memory, networking equipment, and storage devices facing persistent supply shortages. SIA expects global chip sales to exceed USD 1.5 trillion in 2026.

SMIC (00981.HK)Provides IC wafer foundry and related technical services. It is the largest pure-play wafer foundry in China by capacity and offers the broadest coverage of process nodes. Its mature and select advanced process lines address applications including smart terminals, IoT, and computing chips. Based on its periodic disclosures, wafer shipments, capacity utilization, and revenue are at historically high levels.

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