More Chinese artificial intelligence firms and chipmakers are turning to Hong Kong for fundraising, testing the appetite of global investors following stellar onshore debuts of graphics processing unit (GPU) developers Moore Threads Technology and MetaX Integrated Circuits.
GigaDevice Semiconductor is a step closer to its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) after passing a listing hearing, according to bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX). The company is expected to reactivate its IPO application on the bourse’s website before Saturday after its previous filing, dated December 17, lapsed.
Joining the rush are some of China’s most prominent AI and semiconductor hopefuls, including MiniMax and Zhipu AI – dubbed the “new AI tigers of China” – Montage Technology, OmniVision Integrated Circuits, as well as GPU developers Biren Technology and Iluvatar CoreX Semiconductor.
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They are using Hong Kong as “a step towards broadening their investor base and expanding capital-raising channels for research and development”, said Gary Ng Cheuk-yan, senior economist at Natixis Corporate and Investment Bank. “It is a good prerequisite for any future overseas expansion plan, especially given the higher valuation of tech in Hong Kong now.”
GigaDevice, which listed in Shanghai in 2016, and Montage, which joined Shanghai’s Star Market in 2019, are each aiming to raise as much as US$1 billion from Hong Kong listings as early as January, according to a Bloomberg report citing unnamed sources.
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Biren is also seeking to raise about US$600 million through an IPO, the report said.