SINGAPORE/HONG KONG, Jan 2 (Reuters) – Shares of Chinese AI chip designer Shanghai Biren Technology opened 82.1% higher in their Hong Kong debut on Friday, kicking off the financial hub's first listing of 2026. Biren shares opened at HK$35.7 each, above the offer price of HK$19.60. They rose as much as HK$40 after opening. The strong debut follows a blockbuster year for Hong Kong's equity market in 2025 and points to a likely wave of AI and semiconductor offerings this year as China accelerates efforts to build domestic chip alternatives in response to U.S. curbs on technology exports. Biren raised HK$5.58 billion ($717 million) by selling 284.8 million H shares at HK$19.60 each, the top of a marketed range. Institutional demand was nearly 26 times the shares on offer, while the retail tranche was oversubscribed about 2,348 times, exchange filings showed. At the offer price, Biren's market capitalisation stands at HK$46.9 billion, based on 2.396 billion shares outstanding. Founded in 2019, Biren develops general-purpose graphics processing units (GPUs) and intelligent computing systems for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. Its co-founders include Zhang Wen, a former president at SenseTime, and Jiao Guofang, who previously worked at Qualcomm and Huawei. The company first drew attention in 2022 with its BR100 chip, touted as a domestic rival to advanced processors from U.S. AI leader Nvidia. Biren will spend most of the IPO proceeds on research and development and commercialization, its IPO prospectus showed. Its prospectus flagged risk from U.S. export controls after the group was added to Washington's Entity List in October 2023, which limits its access to certain technology. It also cited competition and highlighted opportunities from China's push for tech self-sufficiency and policy support. Cornerstone investors include 3W Fund, Qiming Venture Partners and Ping An Life Insurance, the prospectus showed. (Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui in Singapore and Donny Kwok in Hong Kong; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
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