Chinese markets are experiencing a surge in new public stock offerings, driven by an intense investor appetite for artificial intelligence and advanced technology. This trend has solidified a growing preference among domestic companies to list their shares in Hong Kong and Shanghai, rather than on overseas exchanges.
香港市場でのデビューと評価額の現状
E-commerce and fast fashion giant Shein is set to make its highly anticipated stock market debut on Tuesday in Hong Kong. The company, founded in China and now headquartered in Singapore, priced its shares below the top end of their marketed range, raising 13.6 billion Hong Kong dollars ($1.7 billion) in the blockbuster initial public offering. This gives the company a stock market valuation of around $27 billion, a fraction of its peak valuation from a few years ago. Shein operates a global e-commerce network with sales in more than 150 countries, reporting 281 million active customers who placed a total of more than a billion orders in the year to the end of March 2026.
The debut follows failed attempts to list in the U.S. and UK, where the company faced concerns regarding labor practices and environmental impact. The company’s business model is currently under intense scrutiny, as U.S. and European Union crackdowns on cheap imports and moves to restrict de minimis tax-exemptions for small packages squeeze its finances. Louise Deglise-Favre from the research firm GlobalData noted that the stock market debut comes at a “complex moment” as investors grow skeptical over the performance of fast-fashion companies.
AIとロボット工学が牽引する香港・上海市場のIPOブーム
The broader IPO boom is characterized by a strategic focus on technology. In July, CXMT, China’s largest memory chipmaker, raised more than $8.6 billion in Shanghai, marking the second-largest IPO for the Nasdaq-style STAR market. Shares of the company jumped 466% on their first day of trading. CXMT’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, fueled by a spike in demand for AI-related computer chips. Perris Lee, head of APAC equity capital markets for ION Analytics, stated that the IPO has positioned China strategically in AI-related technology manufacturing and serves as evidence of the nation’s ambitions for technological self-sufficiency.
Similarly, Unitree, a leading humanoid robot maker, debuted in Shanghai in August with shares rising 460% on the first day of trading. Ruiying Zhao, a senior research analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence, observed that the current IPO boom is being driven by investor interest in artificial intelligence and robotics. Financial data platform LSEG reports that IPOs and secondary listings on the Hong Kong and Shanghai exchanges have raised over $54 billion so far in 2026, surpassing the $46 billion raised in the previous year.
AI熱狂の影と持続可能性への問い
Despite the initial gains, some companies have seen their market values shrink significantly. Unitree’s share price had fallen more than 40% as of Friday from its peak on its trading debut. Analysts caution that the market may be facing an AI bubble. Zhao from S&P raised the critical question of whether AI-related sentiment alone is sufficient, noting that investors will eventually demand sustainable revenue, clear profit margins, and realistic company valuations to maintain a durable market cycle.
Furthermore, the AI frenzy has diverted investor attention from other sectors. Jacob Cooke, CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies, explained that the AI investment cycle is currently absorbing a significant portion of the risk appetite that would otherwise have been directed toward companies like Shein. As regulatory scrutiny of overseas listings continues, companies like robotics firms AGIBOT and Deep Robotics are increasingly looking to remain within the Hong Kong or Shanghai markets.