GigaDevice soars 45% in Hong Kong debut as China pushes self-reliance

GigaDevice stock rises as investors focus on Beijing’s push for self-reliance, with retail demand exceeding 540 times the supply

A mainland chip manufacturer, GigaDevice Semiconductor, saw its stock rise over 45 per cent on its initial trading day in Hong Kong on Tuesday, as the company’s listing attracted investor interest in technology firms during China’s efforts to achieve technological independence.

The company’s stock began trading at HK$235, compared to the offering price of HK$162. On Monday night, its shares closed between HK$224.20 and HK$226.80 on the unofficial market, allowing certain investors to realize profits of approximately 40% prior to the official launch, according to data from leading brokerage firms. Meanwhile, its shares listed in Shanghai increased by 1.6% to 266 yuan on Tuesday.

Hongxing Coldchain (Hunan) began trading on the main board on Tuesday, with its initial price at HK$19.58, reflecting a 59.7% increase from the issue price of HK$12.26. On Hong Kong’s GEM board, shares of Malaysian civil engineering firm BBSB International debuted at HK$3, which is five times the offer price of HK$0.60. Hongxing and BBSB planned to raise HK$285 million and HK$78.8 million, respectively.

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GigaDevice’s Hong Kong stock debut generated HK$4.68 billion (US$600 million) as the firm issued 28.9 million shares. Retail investors applied for 542 times the amount of shares they were given, totaling HK$468 million in the offering, following a HK$193.7 billion margin loan from brokers.

Chinese semiconductor companies have captured market interest since Beijing committed to seeking domestic replacements for advanced US products amid trade disputes and the growing competition in artificial intelligence. In December, GPU startupsMoore Threads Technology and MetaX Integrated Circuitsincreased by over 400 percent and almost 700 percent, respectively, during their Shanghai launches.

However, technology companies have experienced typically weaker launches in Hong Kong. Graphics processing unit manufacturer Shanghai Biren Technologyjumped 76 per centon its launch, while creators of large language modelsZhipu AI and MiniMaxrose by 13 percent and 109 percent, respectively.

China International Capital Corporation mentioned in a report released on Monday that the influence of strict technology companies in areas such as AI hardware within Hong Kong’s markets remained limited, which somewhat explained the poor performance this year. The Hang Seng Tech Index has risen just 2 per cent this year, significantly lagging behind the 12 per cent increase of the Star 50 Index from the Nasdaq-style Star Market in Shanghai.

Established in 2005, GigaDevice develops a wide array of chips, such as memory chips, microcontroller units, analog chips, and sensor chips, which find application in consumer electronics, automotive systems, and industrial settings.

In 2024, its NOR-flash chips—utilized for both data and code storage—held the second position worldwide with an 18.5 percent market share, as stated in its prospectus.

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