NextFin -- Shares of Chinese artificial intelligence chip designer Shanghai Biren Technology closed up 76% on their Hong Kong trading debut on Friday, marking the financial hub’s first initial public offering of 2026 and underscoring strong investor appetite for semiconductor and AI stocks.
Biren’s shares opened at HK$35.70, surged to an intraday high of HK$42.88 and ended the session at HK$34.46, compared with the offer price of HK$19.60. That contrasted with a 2.8% rise in Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index.
The stock was the third most actively traded on the exchange by turnover, with 150.7 million shares changing hands, worth HK$5.52 billion ($707.7 million).
The strong debut follows a blockbuster year for Hong Kong’s equity market in 2025 and is seen as a bellwether for a wave of chip and AI-related listings this year, as China accelerates efforts to build domestic technology alternatives in response to U.S. restrictions on advanced semiconductor exports.
Biren raised HK$5.58 billion by selling 284.8 million H shares at HK$19.60 each, the top end of its marketed price range. Institutional demand was nearly 26 times the number of shares available, while the retail tranche was oversubscribed about 2,348 times, exchange filings showed.
At the offer price, Biren’s market capitalisation was HK$46.9 billion, based on 2.396 billion shares outstanding.
Founded in 2019, Biren develops general-purpose graphics processing units (GPUs) and intelligent computing systems for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. The company first drew attention in 2022 with its BR100 chip, which it promoted as a domestic alternative to advanced processors from U.S. AI leader Nvidia.
Biren’s co-founders include Zhang Wen, a former president at SenseTime, and Jiao Guofang, who previously worked at Qualcomm and Huawei.
The company said it will use most of the IPO proceeds for research and development and commercialisation. Its prospectus also flagged risks from U.S. export controls after it was added to Washington’s Entity List in October 2023, limiting its access to certain technologies.
At the same time, Biren highlighted opportunities arising from China’s push for technological self-sufficiency and supportive industrial policies, as competition in the domestic chip sector intensifies.
