Aug 3 (Reuters) - CXMT, China's largest chipmaker by market value, is considering building a second memory-chip plant in Beijing and is in financing talks with a tech manufacturing hub backed by the local government, two sources familiar with the matter said.

The move comes as CXMT seeks ‌to boost production amid a global chip shortage driven by AI infrastructure spending. It highlights intensifying competition among Chinese local governments to attract CXMT, ‌as the memory chipmaker pursues a major expansion following its $8.6 billion IPO last month, the largest mainland Chinese semiconductor listing on record.

Reuters previously reported that CXMT was building new plants in Shanghai and ​Hefei and was in discussions with authorities elsewhere about another facility. Those projects, when fully operational, could double its capacity to more than 600,000 wafers per month. The new Beijing 12-inch plant would be built in Yizhuang, about 20 km (12 miles) southeast of central Beijing, where CXMT already operates a fab producing dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, the sources said. They declined to be identified as the plans are not public. CXMT is seeking at least 60 million yuan ($8.9 million) in support from the development zone's ‌governing body, also known as the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, ⁠and other state-owned tech companies have also expressed interest in participating in the financing, they said.

The talks are at an early stage and the size and structure of any funding package could change, the sources said. It was not immediately clear whether ⁠the funding would come directly from the development zone's administrative authority or through its investment vehicles.

CXMT and the Beijing municipal government did not respond to requests for comment.

The planned capacity and total investment for the proposed fab were not immediately known. Building a fab that can produce leading-edge DRAM chips usually costs more than $10 billion.

CXMT operates two 12-inch DRAM fabs ​in ​Hefei and one in Beijing, each with capacity of about 100,000 wafers per month, the ​people said.

THE 'HEFEI MODEL'The discussions began before CXMT's stock market debut last ‌week, which provided the company with fresh capital for an expansion drive during a memory-chip upcycle fueled by demand from AI infrastructure, data centres and consumer electronics. The shares have since gained 13%.

The company has become a key pillar of Beijing's drive to build a self-sufficient chip industry and narrow the gap with the U.S. in strategic technologies such as AI amid a fierce tech rivalry between the two superpowers.