HK Stock Market Move | Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (00981) increases by over 4%, Goldman Sachs raises company's profit forecast, domestic demand expected to support production volumes and average selling price.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (00981) rose more than 4%, up 3.23% at the time of publication, at HK$72, with a turnover of HK$44.61 billion. On the news front, Goldman Sachs recently released a research report stating that it has raised its target price for Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation's H shares by 15% to HK$73.1. This optimistic outlook is mainly based on the positive outlook for China's IC design demand and artificial intelligence trends, which are expected to strongly support Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation's output and average selling price. The bank also raised the company's revenue and earnings per share forecast for 2028-2029, and pointed out that revenue for the third quarter of 2025 is expected to increase by 5%-7% sequentially, which could be a short-term catalyst for the stock price. It is worth noting that Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation plans to issue A shares to acquire 49% minority shares of SMIC North. Guotai-Haitong stated that after completion, its capacity expansion and the "local for local" trend will be further strengthened. In addition, with the continuous iteration of advanced domestic manufacturing processes, AI chips are expected to gradually shift towards domestic wafer foundries, and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, as the core asset for advanced manufacturing, is expected to have a broad domestic substitution space in the AI era.