Chinese tech firms raise $27.13B in HK

Electric vehicle battery maker CATL launched a roughly HK$39.2-billion ($5.00-billion) share sale in April, less than a year after its blockbuster Hong Kong listing.CATL, whose customers include Tesla, BMW, Volkswagen, Xiaomi and Nio, priced 62.4 million new H shares at HK$628.20 each.Chaozhou Three-Circle, which makes electronic ceramic materials, priced a share offering at the top end of its marketed range to raise about HK$7.16 billion.In June, Dajin Heavy Industry set the offer price for its Hong Kong listing at HK$66.40 a share, aiming to raise HK$5.77 billion.The Shenzhen-listed wind power equipment manufacturer said it plans to use 55 percent of the proceeds to enhance deep-sea wind power services and 20 percent to fund the construction of an assembly and operations facility in Europe.GigaDevice Semiconductor raised HK$4.68 billion in a Hong Kong listing in early January, with plans to use the proceeds for research and development as well as strategic and industry investment, including potential acquisitions. Its shares soared almost 40 percent in their Hong Kong trading debut on Jan. 13.Smart device maker Huaqin Technology raised HK$4.6 billion in a Hong Kong share offering in April. Its shares climbed 17 percent in their Hong Kong debut.Lingyi iTech, the supplier of parts for devices to Apple, Huawei and Samsung, priced its Hong Kong initial public offering to raise about HK$8.3 billion, seeking to use part of the proceeds to expand AI capacity.MiniMax Group said it was seeking to raise HK$16.04 billion in fresh capital via a share sale and a bond issue to fund growth in its AI business.It plans to raise about HK$9.54 billion by offering 35.6 million new Class A shares, and the rest via zero-coupon bonds due 2027.The Mercedes-Benz-backed robotaxi firm Momenta Global raised about HK$5.89 billion in a Hong Kong listing, though shares debuted flat amid caution around AI and other tech stocks.Semiconductor designer Montage Technology raised HK$7.04 billion in a share sale in February to fund research, commercialization, strategic investment or acquisitions and working capital. Its offering attracted 17 cornerstone investors, including JP Morgan Asset Management, UBS Asset Management and Yunfeng Capital.Chipmaker Nexchip Semiconductor priced an offering at the top end of its marketed range, aiming to raise around HK$6.98 billion. It plans to spend over HK$3.5 billion from the proceeds on research and development, and another HK$1.5 billion on AI-powered systems to integrate research, development and production processes.OmniVision Integrated Circuits raised HK$4.80 billion in its Hong Kong listing in early January and plans to allocate about 70 percent of the proceeds to research and development.AI chip startup Shanghai Biren Technology raised HK$5.58 billion in its Hong Kong listing in December, with most of the proceeds earmarked for research and development and commercialization. Shanghai Iluvatar CoreX Semiconductor launched a Hong Kong share sale aimed at raising around HK$7.07 billion.The company was offering 14.9 million new H shares at HK$476 apiece, representing a 15-percent discount to the stock’s last close. It said the proceeds from the share sale will be used to advance research and development, product iteration and technology upgrades, among other uses.Knowledge Atlas Technology JSC, known as Zhipu AI, launched a HK$31.41-billion share sale in Hong Kong. The firm is viewed by investors as a fast-rising challenger to United States firms such as OpenAI.Chinese optical parts maker Zhongji Innolight set its Hong Kong listing price at HK$980 per H share, aiming to raise HK$53.41 billion in Asia’s second-largest share sale this year.The listing would also be Hong Kong’s biggest share sale in nearly seven years, since Alibaba Group’s $12.9 billion listing in 2019, according to LSEG data.