Baidu AI chip unit Kunlunxin may delay Hong Kong IPO to 2027
Bloomberg reports that Baidu's AI chip unit Kunlunxin may defer its Hong Kong IPO to 2027, pending Chinese securities regulator approval. Baidu denies the claim but says it cannot disclose confidential filing details. The potential listing is valued at US$2 billion.
Baidu's (9888) artificial intelligence chip unit Kunlunxin Technology may defer its initial public offering in Hong Kong to next year, as the company is still waiting for approval from Chinese securities regulators, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The semiconductor design firm confidentially filed for a US$2 billion (HK$15.6 billion) listing in the city in January and was originally estimated to get the green light from the China Securities Regulatory Commission this summer, the report said. Although the company is actively preparing the listing, its debut time may fall in 2027 before getting the nod from Beijing, according to the report.
Baidu's spokesman told Bloomberg in a response that the company denied the relevant market rumours, noting that it cannot disclose material non-public information as Kunlunxin is undergoing a confidential filing process, including details of the listing progress. Baidu will make an announcement in due course, the spokesman added.
Kunlunxin's potential IPO could be one of the most attractive listings in Hong Kong this year, as the city's IPO market has drawn HK$388 billion so far, heading towards the record-high HK$427 billion set in 2010. The chipmaker began preparing for a Shanghai STAR Market listing earlier this year, while the market anticipated its Hong Kong IPO would come first.
In the first half of the year, Kunlunxin's shipments accounted for 4 per cent of China's data centre AI chip market, compared with Huawei's 28 per cent share, according to IDC. Baidu's shares underperformed the market, closing more than 1 per cent lower.