Asia Chip Stocks From a US Account: SKHY, TSM, KXIAY and Other Tickers

From a US or Singapore brokerage account, the shortest route to Asia’s biggest chipmakers is a US-traded receipt. SK hynix trades on Nasdaq as SKHY and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) on the New York Stock Exchange as TSM. Kioxia Holdings has no US listing, but receipts for its shares trade over the counter (OTC) as KXIAY. Samsung Electronics has no US-listed receipt; its depositary receipts trade in London. Each differs from the home share in ratio, currency, hours, fees and disclosure. This guide sets out what each ticker represents, not which route suits whom.

What is an ADR?

A depositary receipt is a certificate issued by a bank that holds the company’s shares in its home market. In the US it is called an American depositary receipt (ADR) or American depositary share (ADS); the SEC notes that the two terms are used interchangeably. The bank, called the depositary, keeps the shares, and the receipt trades in US dollars on the US clock. In short:

• Each receipt stands for a set number of home shares, its ratio: five TSMC shares for one TSM, one-tenth of an SK hynix share for one SKHY.
• Some list on an exchange, some trade only over the counter. A listed receipt (Level 2 or 3) needs the company to file annual reports with the SEC; an OTC receipt (Level 1) does not.
• Some are sponsored by the company, some are not. An unsponsored receipt, such as Kioxia’s KXIAY, is set up by banks without the company’s cooperation.
• The depositary charges fees, often deducted from dividends, and converts dividends into dollars. The receipt still carries the home currency’s exchange-rate risk.
• The US price can drift from the home price converted at the ratio and the exchange rate.

Each point has its own section below.

Which US tickers stand for which Asian chipmakers?

Company	Home listing	US-traded form	Ticker	Ratio	Where it trades
SK hynix	KRX KOSPI Market, 000660	Sponsored ADS (Citibank)	SKHY	10 ADSs = 1 share	Nasdaq
TSMC	Taiwan Stock Exchange, 2330	Sponsored ADS (Citibank)	TSM	1 ADS = 5 shares	NYSE
Kioxia Holdings	Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime, 285A	Unsponsored ADR (four banks)	KXIAY	10 ADRs = 1 share	OTC
Samsung Electronics	KRX, 005930 (common), 005935 (preferred)	No US listing; GDRs in London (Citibank)	SMSN, SMSD	1 GDR = 25 shares	London Stock Exchange, in US dollars
UMC	Taiwan Stock Exchange, 2303	Sponsored ADS (JPMorgan)	UMC	1 ADS = 5 shares	NYSE
ASE Technology	Taiwan Stock Exchange, 3711	Sponsored ADS (Citibank)	ASX	1 ADS = 2 shares	NYSE
Tokyo Electron	Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime, 8035	Sponsored Level I ADR (JPMorgan)	TELWY	2 ADRs = 1 share	OTC
Advantest	Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime, 6857	ADR	ATEYY	—	OTC

Sources: company filings and notices, depositary directories and FINRA, listed at the end. Advantest says its ADRs still trade OTC after it left the NYSE in 2016, and FINRA’s records name ATEYY a sponsored ADR; its ratio is not shown in the documents checked here. The shares themselves can also carry OTC symbols: FINRA lists KXHCF as Kioxia common stock and TSMWF as TSMC ordinary shares.

What separates a listed ADR from an OTC ticker?

The SEC sorts ADR programs into three levels. A Level 1 program trades only OTC and is the only kind that can be unsponsored. The depositary files a Form F-6 describing the deposit terms, and no information about the company appears on the SEC’s EDGAR system. Level 2 and 3 programs list on an exchange such as the NYSE or Nasdaq, and the company files annual reports on Form 20-F.

• Disclosure. TSMC filed its 20-F for 2025 on April 16, 2026. SK hynix registered its ADSs with a full prospectus in July 2026 and files current reports with the SEC. For Kioxia, the depositaries’ filings rely on Kioxia publishing English information on its own website.
• Liquidity. Trading volumes differ widely. FINRA’s weekly OTC data for the week of September 14, 2026, the latest published on October 20, show 9,071,914 KXIAY receipts traded in 24,313 trades. Kioxia’s own shares under KXHCF: 6,340 shares in 40 trades.
• Hours. Exchange-listed ADRs trade in the US regular session, 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. New York time (the NYSE core session). OTC receipts also trade on the US clock. Either way, the home market is usually closed.

Sponsored or unsponsored: who stands behind the receipt?

A sponsored program rests on a deposit agreement between the company and one bank, which handles dividends, notices and records. An unsponsored program is set up without the company’s cooperation, often at the initiative of a broker-dealer, according to the SEC.

Kioxia is the main unsponsored case on this list. Four banks have filed Kioxia ADR registrations with the SEC since January 2025: JPMorgan Chase Bank, The Bank of New York Mellon, Citibank and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas. Deutsche Bank’s directory lists all four under one ticker, KXIAY, and one CUSIP, 49726J108, as an unsponsored OTC program. JPMorgan’s terms show what that means for holders: the bank has no duty to pass on meeting notices, keeps company reports in the language received, and may, but need not, try to vote shares on a holder’s written request. TSMC’s sponsored agreement, by contrast, has the depositary mail meeting notices and voting forms to ADS holders.

Programs can change. Tokyo Electron set up a sponsored Level I program on September 17, 2026: TELWY, two ADRs per share, with JPMorgan as depositary. It said its existing unsponsored ADRs (TOELY in FINRA’s records) are expected to move into the new program.

Kioxia itself said on May 15, 2026 that it is preparing to list ADSs on a US exchange. On September 15, Bloomberg reported that Kioxia was considering raising at least US$10 billion through an ADR listing, possibly in 2027, according to Evertiq. Kioxia responded that the reports were not its announcements, that the schedule, market and method have not been decided, and that it may not proceed.

How does the ADR ratio work?

A ratio sets how many home shares stand behind one receipt. The SEC says it lets ADRs trade at prices more typical of US shares. To compare prices:

1. Take the home-market price per share.
2. Multiply by the number of shares per receipt (5 for TSM, 0.1 for SKHY or KXIAY, 0.5 for TELWY, 25 for SMSN).
3. Divide by the exchange rate (won, New Taiwan dollars or yen per US dollar).

Ratios can change. Kioxia split each share into three, effective October 1, 2026. Depositary filings on October 1 and 6 still describe each ADS as one-tenth of a share, and Citi’s directory showed 1:10 on October 20, so ten KXIAY receipts stand for one post-split share. Earlier, BNY Mellon changed its Kioxia ratio from one share to one-tenth effective February 12, 2026. Our Kioxia split explainer covers the price history.

What does a receipt cost beyond the commission?

Depositaries charge fees, often deducted from dividends, the SEC says. Each program sets its own ceiling in its deposit agreement:

• SKHY: up to US$5.00 per 100 ADSs on each cash distribution, the same again as an “ADS services” fee on record dates the depositary sets, and up to US$5.00 per 100 ADSs to issue or cancel ADSs.
• TSM: up to US$0.05 per ADS to issue or cancel ADSs.

The receipts are priced in US dollars, and the depositary converts dividends into dollars. The currency risk does not go away: the receipt’s value still tracks the home share converted at the exchange rate.

Why can the US price differ from the home price?

The clocks. The regular sessions do not overlap, so each market reacts to news that broke while the other was shut.

Regular session	Local time	Singapore	New York, to Oct 31
KRX (Seoul)	09:00–15:30	08:00–14:30	20:00–02:30
TWSE (Taipei)	09:00–13:30	09:00–13:30	21:00–01:30
TSE (Tokyo)	09:00–11:30, 12:30–15:30	08:00–10:30, 11:30–14:30	20:00–22:30, 23:30–02:30
NYSE / Nasdaq	09:30–16:00	21:30–04:00	09:30–16:00

US clocks go back on November 1, 2026. After that the US session runs 22:30 to 05:00 in Singapore, and the Asian sessions start one hour earlier in New York.

Creating new receipts can be limited. Under Taiwan’s rules, quoted in TSMC’s 20-F, new TSM receipts generally cannot be issued against newly deposited shares without approval from Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission. Shares can be re-deposited only up to the number previously withdrawn. SK hynix’s prospectus warns that holders who withdraw shares may not be allowed to deposit them again. When new receipts are hard to create, a gap can persist; our TSM vs 2330 explainer and SKHY vs 000660 guide show how to measure it.

Thin trading. A rarely traded ticker can show a last price that is days old. FINRA’s weekly data record TSMWF trades in only 28 weeks since February 2022, the latest in the week of March 23, 2026.

What about Samsung, which has no US listing?

Samsung’s investor relations page lists two markets: KRX and the London Stock Exchange. Its London GDRs are Regulation S issues, priced in US dollars:

• SMSN: each GDR represents 25 common shares.
• SMSD: each represents 25 non-voting preferred shares.

Citibank is the depositary. The 25-share ratio dates from April 2018, after Samsung’s 50-for-1 share split. The preferred GDR was delisted from Luxembourg in February 2025 and remains on the London Stock Exchange.

Two OTC symbols carry Samsung’s name, but they are shares, not receipts, in FINRA’s records. FINRA describes SSNNF as non-voting preferred shares and SSNLF as “N-Vtg Ordinary Shares,” so the class an order would reach is worth confirming with the broker. Trades are rare: FINRA’s weekly data show SSNLF last traded in the week of May 4, 2026, one trade of 100 shares. Our Samsung guide compares the London GDRs, the Seoul shares and ETFs.

Can you hold the home shares instead?

Some international brokers route orders directly to the Korea Exchange, the Taiwan Stock Exchange or the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Access and fees differ by broker and account country; the broker’s own market list is the place to check. Home shares mean dealing in won, New Taiwan dollars or yen, and in local rules. In Taiwan, for example, a foreign holder who withdraws TSMC shares from the ADS program must register with the Taiwan Stock Exchange and appoint a local agent, according to TSMC’s 20-F.