AI and robotics drive an IPO boom in China as Shein lists in Hong Kong

HONG KONG (AP) — Chinese markets are booming with new public stock offerings, energized by the craze for artificial intelligence and other advanced technology and a growing preference to list shares in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

In the latest big stock listing, shares in China-founded e-commerce and fast fashion giant Shein are due to debut Tuesday in Hong Kong in a blockbuster initial public offering raising $1.7 billion, in one of the city’s biggest new share sales this year.

In July, CXMT, China’s largest memory chipmaker, raised more than $8.6 billion in Shanghai in the second-largest IPO for its Nasdaq-style STAR market, mainland China’s second-largest IPO. Its shares jumped 466% on the first day of trading.

Unitree, one of China’s leading humanoid robot makers, also made its listing debut in Shanghai in August. Shares rose 460% on the first day of trading.

“The current IPO boom is powered by investor appetite for AI and robotics,” said Ruiying Zhao, a senior research analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence. Trading in Shanghai’s stock market, for one, is heavily driven by retail investors.

AI driving Chinese IPO boom

CXMT’s IPO in Shanghai “placed China in a strategically significant position in tech manufacturing related to AI,” said Perris Lee, head of APAC equity capital markets for ION Analytics. “It’s also a testament to China’s tech self-sufficiency ambitions.”

Founded in China in 2016, the company’s revenue surged more than 700% year-on-year to 50.8 billion yuan (about $7.5 billion) in the first three months of 2026 on a spike in demand for computer chips needed for AI.

IPO proceeds in Hong Kong and Shanghai so far this year have already surpassed the funding raised last year, according to the financial data platform LSEG.

It says IPOs and secondary listing activities on the Hong Kong and Shanghai exchanges raised a total of over $54 billion from so far in 2026, surpassing last year’s total of more than $46 billion.

Combined Hong Kong and Shanghai proceeds so far this year accounted for roughly 21% globally, ranking them only behind only the Nasdaq’s roughly 55% global share, LSEG said. There, the mega $75 billion IPO by SpaceX in June made the U.S. exchange the world’s biggest IPO market this year.

Since China limits foreign purchases on mainland exchanges, many Chinese companies do parallel listings in Hong Kong to help raise international capital.

Fewer big Chinese companies listing overseas

Stricter U.S. and Chinese regulatory scrutiny in recent years of big Chinese companies listing in U.S. markets, especially those in strategically important sectors like advanced technologies, has led some Chinese companies to stick closer to home.

Listing overseas typically takes more time compared with doing IPOs in China, said Howie Farn, a capital markets partner at the law firm Freshfields.

In Hong Kong, recent public stock listings of Apple-supplier Luxshare Precision Industry, and Zhongji Innolight, which makes optical transceivers used in data centers, were among this year’s largest deals and were also a reflection of investor demand for advanced technologies.

More companies are looking to hold their IPOs in Hong Kong or Shanghai, like robotics firms AGIBOT and Deep Robotics.

Shein also explored the possibility of listings in the U.S. and London before opting for Hong Kong.

Investors are wary of a possible AI bubble in China, too

After massive oversubscriptions and huge gains in their share debuts, some companies have seen their market value shrink.

Chinese robot maker Unitree’s share price had fallen more than 40% as of Friday from its peak share price on the day of its trading debut.

“The critical question remains: is the AI sentiment enough?” said Zhao from S&P, as the similar question that raised worries among investors in the U.S. also now also applies to China. “For a durable market cycle, investors will demand sustainable revenue, visible profit margins, and realistic valuations.

The global AI frenzy also has also drawn attention away from companies like Shein. “The AI investment cycle is absorbing much of the risk appetite that would have otherwise flowed to a company like Shein,” said Jacob Cooke, CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies.

Shein’s IPO puts the company’s value at around $27 billion, a fraction of its peak valuation a few years ago, though that is partly due to U.S. and EU moves to restrict de minimus tax-exemptions for imports of small packages.