Horizon Robotics soars 28% in Hong Kong debut as IPOs return in bumper week for fundraising

Shares of the Chinese autonomous-driving technology firm Horizon Robotics jumped when they began trading for the first time, marking a second successful initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong and one of the busiest weeks this year on the local exchange.

Listed under the code 9660, the tech company’s shares changed hands at HK$5.12, a 28 per cent jump from the IPO price of HK$3.99. Chairman and CEO Yu Kai struck the ceremonial gong to mark the trading debut. The shares recently traded at HK$4.22.

The Beijing-based company raised HK$5.4 billion (US$696 million) after pricing its shares at the top end of the marketed range. The IPO is Hong Kong’s second-largest this year after Midea Group’s US$4.6 billion jumbo deal last month.

“The completion of our IPO in Hong Kong marks a significant step in our journey into the global market,” Yu said before the ceremonial gong moment. “We will increase our investments in research and continue our commitment towards innovations to create value for our users, and make travelling safer and better for everyone.”

Horizon was founded in 2015 by Yu, who previously worked at Baidu and led projects in deep learning and autonomous driving.

Horizon’s IPO attracted 33.8 times the number of shares allocated to retail investors in Hong Kong and 13.8 times by global funds. The oversubscription may encourage the firm to exercise an option to sell an additional 203 million shares, potentially swelling the IPO proceeds to US$800 million.