Momenta Hong Kong IPO rises 3% in debut, testing AI demand

Momenta raised HK$5.89 billion ($751.1 million) in its Hong Kong initial public offering and traded about 3 per cent above its HK$295.60 offer price early Wednesday. For a loss-making Chinese autonomy company wrapped into the AI trade, the small gain still carried weight. The shares stayed above issue price after a large, closely watched listing.

The HKEX pricing announcement fixed the shares at HK$295.60, while the early rise reported by CNBC pointed to a book that was firm, not euphoric. That matters in Hong Kong’s current issuance window. Investors are still funding selected China growth stories, but a company no longer gets a blank cheque because its deck says artificial intelligence. A small premium can read as price discipline rather than disappointment.

Momenta’s debut is mainly a capital-markets test. Founder and chief executive Cao Xudong is asking public investors to fund research intensity and deployment before profits arrive. The prospectus says 60 per cent of net proceeds will go to core autonomous-driving technology and 20 per cent to robotaxi commercialisation. Buyers were not underwriting a mature cash-flow story. They were backing engineering spend, rollout capacity and the chance that scale arrives before losses become harder to defend.

The operating figures show the bargain. Revenue rose to 2.41 billion yuan in 2025 from 1.32 billion yuan in 2024, according to the prospectus. Loss attributable to owners widened to 3.46 billion yuan. That mix would usually make traditional IPO investors careful. Here, day-one trading suggests sales growth, named backers and a clear use of proceeds were enough to keep attention on expansion rather than the earnings drag.

Where demand sat

The cornerstone roster helps explain the reception. Mercedes-Benz and other cornerstone investors, including funds managed by BlackRock, GIC, Fidelity International, Oaktree, Franklin Templeton and ChinaAMC, gave the deal a backer list that mixed strategic and long-only capital. New listings are competing for the same pool of regional and international money, so that book did some reputational work before open-market trading began. Mercedes-Benz’s presence also makes the pitch less like a pure speculative AI ticker and more like an autonomy company with industrial relationships investors can name.

Reuters, in an earlier June report, said Momenta had been preparing to market the offering in Hong Kong after considering New York. That makes the debut more than a first-day pop. It is another marker of where China technology issuers think they can still raise patient capital at acceptable valuations. Hong Kong does not need every new-economy float to surge. It does need enough buyers willing to back loss-making growth companies when the proceeds plan and sponsor story are clear.

Outside commentary took a similar line. As CNBC reported, Louis Lau of KPMG China said the local pipeline remains active after a heavy run of new deals. Momenta fits that case: the trade was orderly, the company raised size, and the stock held a gain rather than breaking issue price. For bankers and issuers watching the window, that may matter almost as much as a spectacular first print.

“We are optimistic about the outlook for the Hong Kong IPO market, driven by thriving IPO activities and a robust pipeline.”

Louis Lau, KPMG China, according to CNBC

Momenta’s harder test starts after the debut. Public capital will fund core software and robotaxi commercialisation, but shareholders will now look for evidence that the spending turns into deployment, customer traction and a clearer path to operating leverage. A 3 per cent first-day rise is validation, not a verdict. Wednesday’s narrower message was that Hong Kong investors are still prepared to fund China autonomy at scale when the deal comes with revenue growth, named backers and a disciplined proceeds story.