Mainland AI chip supplier Axera trades flat in Hong Kong debut as investor frenzy cools
Axera attracted HK$22.34 billion from retail investors during the bookbuilding period, marking an oversubscription of 74.4 times
Chinese artificial intelligence system-on-chip (SoC) supplier Axera Semiconductor traded flat on its debut in Hong Kong on Tuesday, as market sentiment turned to favour profitable industry leaders.
Shares of the Zhejiang province-based firm closed at HK$28.20, the same as the offer price, after briefly rising above HK$29 in morning trade. It ended the day with a market capitalisation of over HK$16.5 billion.
The company issued 100 million shares, raising HK$2.96 billion (US$378.7 million). Axera attracted HK$22.34 billion from retail investors during the bookbuilding period, marking an oversubscription of 74.4 times.
In comparison, Montage Technology, a designer of high-speed interconnect chips for data centres, jumped 64 per cent on its debut in Hong Kong on Monday. The firm, dual-listed in Shanghai, raised HK$7 billion.
Mainland chip designer GigaDevice Semiconductor rose more than 37 per cent on its first trading day on January 13.
“As the Chinese AI sector is seeing players in various directions and stages, the market prefers firms with a stable outlook, especially the ability to maintain growth and achieve profitability,” said Kenny Ng Lai-yin, a strategist at Everbright Securities International.
