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Biren shares soar as investors seize on first Chinese GPU start-up to list in Hong Kong
Shares leap 82 per cent in debut after retail investors’ demand exceeds supply by 2,347 times
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Shares of Shanghai Biren Technology jumped 82.1 per cent upon their debut on Friday in Hong Kong’s first listing of the year, as investors piled into the Chinese graphics processing unit (GPU) maker amid the artificial intelligence wave.
The first of China’s up-and-coming GPU developers to list in Hong Kong, the company’s shares first changed hands at HK$35.70, up from the initial public offering (IPO) price of HK$19.60. The stock later more than doubled to HK$42.88 before ending the day 75.8 per cent higher at HK$34.46, valuing the company at HK$82.6 billion (US$10.6 billion).
Biren raised HK$5.58 billion after exercising an option to adjust the offer size to accommodate strong investor appetite.
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The listing followed the red-hot debuts of its peers – Moore Threads Technology, dubbed “China’s Nvidia”, and MetaX Integrated Circuits in Shanghai last month. Two other Chinese AI start-ups, Zhipu and MiniMax, are currently building their IPO books in Hong Kong – amid a booming IPO market in the city.
Biren decided to pursue a Hong Kong listing “to access capital and attract diverse investors”, dropping an earlier plan to list in Shanghai, the firm said in the prospectus. It added that a mainland listing could happen “at an appropriate time”, although it was not guaranteed.
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“We see Hong Kong’s favourable business environment and efficient connectivity with global capital as a vital platform for the growth of hard‑tech and other companies here,” said Zhang Wen, chairman and CEO of Biren, at the listing ceremony at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) in Central.
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