Zhongji Innolight shares fall on Hong Kong debut amid global AI sell-off
Zhongji Innolight saw its share price drop as much as 3 per cent after its hotly anticipated debut on the Hong Kong stock market on Thursday, as the Chinese firm felt the impact of a global downturn in investor sentiment towards the artificial intelligence sector.
By 9.33am, it dropped by 2.86 per cent to HK$953.
The Chinese firm – a leading producer of optical transceivers used in AI data centres – had earlier completed Hong Kong’s biggest initial public offering of the year, raising HK$53.4 billion (US$6.8 billion) at a market capitalisation of over HK$1 trillion.
But the listing has coincided with a global sell-off of AI-related stocks, with Innolight pricing the IPO at HK$980 per share – below its upper marketing limit of HK$1,010.
The company’s share price in Shenzhen had slumped 16 per cent since the launch of its H-share public offering as of Wednesday, closing at 951 yuan per share. That narrowed the discount between its new H shares and existing A shares from 20 per cent to just 11 per cent.
As a supplier to tech giants including Nvidia, Alphabet and Meta Platforms, Innolight is “a true champion not only in market share, but also in optical communication module technology”, said Steven Leung, executive director at brokerage firm UOB Kay Hian.
