China’s deal flow is roaring back as AI and robotics fever fuels an IPO revival in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Shein is set to debut in Hong Kong with a $1.7 billion float, underscoring a home-market tilt amid tighter U.S. and Chinese scrutiny of overseas listings. On the mainland, memory-chip maker CXMT raised more than $8.6 billion in one of the STAR Market’s largest offerings, while humanoid-robot producer Unitree saw a blistering first-day pop—retail-driven surges that later faded, highlighting froth and valuation risk.
Year-to-date proceeds in Hong Kong and Shanghai have topped $54 billion, about 21% of global issuance, second to Nasdaq’s roughly 55%—buoyed by a $75 billion SpaceX IPO, according to LSEG. Investors are crowding into AI-adjacent names as Beijing presses for tech self-sufficiency, but analysts warn durable returns will require revenue visibility and margin discipline. Shein, valued at roughly $27 billion—well below its pandemic-era peak—faces headwinds from U.S. and EU moves to curb de minimis import exemptions and from capital rotating toward AI infrastructure. With foreign ownership limits onshore and regulatory uncertainty offshore, companies are increasingly favoring dual pathways through Shanghai and Hong Kong to tap both domestic and international capital.
AI and robotics power China’s IPO surge as Shein chooses Hong Kong listing
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