Semiconductor maker Kioxia Holdings listed its shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Wednesday. The Japanese company hopes the listing will lead to increased production of state-of-the-art memory chips.

Kioxia is now on the TSE's top-tier Prime Market Division. The stock ended its first day at 1,601 yen, giving it a valuation of about 5.6 billion dollars.

The initial public offering is Japan's second-largest this year, after Tokyo Metro.

Kioxia used to be a unit of Toshiba. But it was spun off in 2018 as part of the conglomerate's restructuring plan.

The firm applied to be listed in 2020. But it was repeatedly delayed in view of trade friction between the US and China and due to the slumping stock markets.

Kioxia eventually decided to go public on good prospects for the semiconductor market from next year.

Kioxia Holdings President and CEO Hayasaka Nobuo said, "We'll promote research and development of semiconductor memory, which is essential for the development of AI and a digital society in the future."

The chipmaker has been lagging its foreign rivals in attracting capital investment to fund an expansion in production.

It is planning to secure about 190 million dollars through the listing.