Qiu Chunxin, RoboSense’s chairman and Qiu Chunchao, its president, struck the ceremonial gong at the Hong Kong stock exchange at 9.30am with mallets wrapped in auspicious red cloth to mark commencement of trading.
“The listing at HKEX is a milestone for RoboSense,” Qiu Chunxin said. “It means our company has now entered the international capital markets.”
Gross proceeds from the RoboSense IPO aggregated HK$985 million, and out of the net proceeds of HK$887 million, the company plans to use 45 per cent on research and development, 20 per cent on enhancing its manufacturing, testing and verification capabilities, 20 per cent on sales and marketing efforts, and the rest on partnerships and for working capital needs.
Huawei, RoboSense join open-source autonomous driving initiative
Huawei, RoboSense join open-source autonomous driving initiative
JPMorgan and China Renaissance were the joint sponsors of the IPO, while CICC Securities, CCB International, Fosun International Securities, Essence International, CMB Capital and ABC International were among the bookrunners.
Chinese state-owned enterprise Nanshan SEI Investment came in as a cornerstone investor, subscribing to 79 per cent of the shares on offer.
The company is experiencing losses as it is still at a “ramp-up stage”, according to its IPO prospectus, and expects to record losses in the current year. RoboSense posted a net loss of 244 million yuan (US$34 million) in the first six months of last year and a deficit of 563 million yuan in 2022.
“We are not able to predict when we will be able to start generating net profits and net operating cash inflow due to the fast-evolving business environment and competitive landscape,” it said in its prospectus.
RoboSense counts Alibaba’s logistics arm Cainiao as its biggest non-founding shareholder, with a stake of 10 per cent. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.