Chinese artificial intelligence chip design company Shanghai Biren Technology had a stellar debut in Hong Kong, with its share price surging as much as 118% on its first day of trading.
On Friday (January 2), Biren Technology became Hong Kong's first new listing of 2026. The stock opened at HKD 35.7 per share (equivalent to SGD 5.88), well above its issue price of HKD 19.60, and quickly climbed to as high as HKD 42 per share after the market opened. As of 10 a.m. on Friday, the highest gain had reached 118%.
According to Reuters, the strong debut of the first technology stock continues the booming trend seen in Hong Kong's stock market in 2025, and suggests that, against the backdrop of China accelerating the development of domestic chip alternatives to counter US technology export restrictions, AI and semiconductor companies may usher in a new wave of IPOs this year.
Biren issued 284.8 million shares at HKD 19.60 each, raising a total of HKD 5.58 billion. Exchange filings show that the institutional portion was nearly 26 times subscribed, while the retail tranche was oversubscribed by about 2,348 times.
Founded in 2019, Biren focuses on developing general-purpose graphic processing units (GPUs) and intelligent computing power systems for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. The company's founder is Zhang Wen, former president of SenseTime. He previously worked as a senior lawyer on Wall Street, then as a private equity fund general manager, and also co-founded InnoLight with Richard Chang, founder of SMIC.