HONG KONG – January 2, 2026 – The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) kicked off 2026 with a historic display of investor appetite as Shanghai Biren Technology Co., a premier Chinese designer of AI semiconductors, made its trading debut today. In a stunning performance that signals a massive vote of confidence in China’s homegrown AI hardware, Biren’s shares surged by nearly 119%, marking the strongest first-day gain for a major listing in the city since 2021.
The IPO, which raised approximately $717 million (HK$5.58 billion), was priced at the very top of its indicated range at HK$19.60. Upon the opening bell, the stock skyrocketed to HK$35.70 before peaking at HK$42.88 during intraday trading.
A “Frenzied” Reception: Retail Demand Hits Record Highs
The success of the listing was foreshadowed by an extraordinary level of oversubscription during the offering period.
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Retail Fever: The retail tranche of the IPO was oversubscribed a staggering 2,348 times, attracting approximately 471,000 individual subscribers. This set a fresh record for retail participation in any Hong Kong IPO over the past twelve months.
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Institutional Backing: Global and domestic institutions were equally eager, with that portion of the deal oversubscribed by 26 times.
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Scarcity Value: Analysts note that as the first pure-play GPU developer to list in Hong Kong, Biren holds significant “scarcity value” for investors looking to gain exposure to China’s domestic AI infrastructure.
Silicon Self-Sufficiency: The “Four Dragons” Strategy
Biren is widely considered one of the “Four Little Dragons” of the Chinese GPU industry—startups tasked with developing alternatives to high-end chips from U.S.-based Nvidia, whose sales to China have been heavily restricted by export controls.
Biren’s flagship BR100 series has already gained traction for its performance in AI training and inference. The company revealed in its prospectus that it will use 85% of the IPO proceeds to fund the research and development of its next-generation flagship chip, the BR20X, slated for a late 2026 release.
“The listing is not the end but a brand-new beginning,” stated Biren Founder and CEO Zhang Wen during the ceremony. “Hong Kong’s efficient link to global capital will become an important platform for Biren to develop as a global leader in intelligent computing.”
Market Implications for 2026
The explosive debut of Biren is seen as a bellwether for the “AI IPO wave” expected to hit Hong Kong this year.
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Upcoming Listings: Industry insiders are now closely watching the upcoming debuts of other Chinese AI unicorns, including MiniMax and Zhipu AI, which are rumored to be filing for their own listings in the coming weeks.
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Economic Sentiment: The rally helped push the benchmark Hang Seng Index past the 26,000 mark for the first time in months, reflecting a broader optimism about the recovery of the Chinese tech sector.
While the company still faces challenges—including its inclusion on the U.S. Entity List and a reported net loss of 1.6 billion yuan in the first half of 2025—today’s performance confirms that capital markets are currently prioritizing the strategic importance of AI hardware over immediate profitability.
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