Two informed sources revealed that Chinese semiconductor design firm Montage Technology Co., Ltd. is planning a secondary listing in Hong Kong as soon as this month, aiming to raise between $800 million and $1 billion through a share sale, adding another significant transaction to the territory's bustling fundraising pace.
Data from the London Stock Exchange Group indicates that if Montage Technology achieves its $1 billion fundraising target, this would become the largest new share issuance in Hong Kong since China's Zijin Mining Group International's $3.53 billion listing last September.
One of the sources, who declined to be named due to the confidentiality of the information, stated that the listing timetable has not been finalized, but the flotation is highly likely to occur on January 26.
Montage Technology passed a listing hearing with the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing on Monday. The company has not yet responded to requests for comment.
Recently, as China vigorously promotes the enhancement of domestic technological capabilities and reduces reliance on U.S. technology, initial public offering activities for artificial intelligence and chip companies have surged in the Hong Kong and mainland markets.
AI server company Chaojubian has hired CITIC Securities to prepare for a listing on the A-share market; memory chip manufacturer ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc. and Baidu's AI chip business, Kunlun Xin, are also planning listing activities.
On Thursday, three Chinese technology companies listed in Hong Kong, demonstrating strong first-day performances and raising a combined $1.19 billion. This included Zhipu AI (Knowledge Graph Technology Co., Ltd.), an artificial intelligence firm identified by OpenAI as a rapidly rising competitor.
Founded in 2004, Montage Technology primarily operates as a fabless integrated circuit design company. Its products are mainly used to enhance data transfer speeds between chips within servers and data centers.
The company was initially listed on the Nasdaq in September 2013, raising $71 million, but was taken private one year later by the state-backed Shanghai Pudong Science and Technology Investment Co., Ltd.
In 2019, Montage Technology re-listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's STAR Market. It currently has a market capitalization of approximately $22 billion. Data from the London Stock Exchange Group shows its share price has nearly doubled over the past year.
The draft prospectus submitted by Montage Technology to the Hong Kong Exchange cites data from Frost & Sullivan, stating that the company held a 36.8% market share in the global memory interface chip market in 2024.
The prospectus shows that from 2023 to 2024, Montage Technology's revenue increased by 59% year-on-year to 3.64 billion yuan (approximately $521.27 million); net profit was 1.34 billion yuan, with a gross profit margin exceeding 58%.
The company plans to use the proceeds from this listing to increase R&D investment in the interconnect chip field, conduct market promotion activities, and seek strategic investment opportunities.
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