Shares of Shanghai Biren Technology Co. jumped almost 76% in their trading debut on Friday, marking the best first-day performance since early 2021 among Hong Kong listings that raised at least $700 million.
The artificial intelligence chip designer’s stock finished at 34.46 Hong Kong dollars after an initial public offering that was priced at 19.60 Hong Kong dollars, the top of an indicative range. Strong investor demand helped the company raise $717 million through the IPO, with its retail portion subscribed more than 2,300 times.
The developer of graphics processing units used to train and run AI models made its debut amid a wave of blockbuster Chinese listings in the sector, which has emerged as one of hottest themes in global equity markets. Apart from the surging investor interest in all things AI, China’s push to support homegrown technology has also boosted sentiment.
Shanghai Biren’s strong start will likely augur well for two other AI-related stocks—MiniMax Group Inc. and Knowledge Atlas Technology JSC Ltd., better known as Zhipu—that are set to list in the Asian financial hub next week. Separately, Baidu Inc.’s AI chip unit confidentially filed for a Hong Kong IPO on Friday.
