Prices surge fivefold! Zhipu and MINIMAX ignite Hong Kong stock IPOs, with the lowest break-even rate ever

Why Can AI · Zhipu MINIMAX Become a Dark Horse in Hong Kong Stock IPOs?

Yesterday, Hong Kong stocks welcomed the last two IPOs of the first quarter of 2026—Master Tong and Fourier.

It is noteworthy that the performance of these two companies on their first trading day varied greatly. Fourier surged by 100%, ranking in the top ten for the largest first-day gains among new listings in the first quarter, while Master Tong ultimately fell by 49.17%, making it the worst-performing new stock on its first day this quarter.

Perhaps this also indicates that the Hong Kong IPO market in 2026 will usher in a brand-new situation.

Next, let’s take a look at the specific situation of Hong Kong IPOs in the first quarter.

In the first quarter of 2026, a total of 40 new stocks listed in Hong Kong (including Lantu Auto, which used a different listing method and did not issue new shares), representing a 150% increase from 16 in the first quarter of 2025; the total funds raised from IPOs reached approximately HKD 109.93B, surpassing the HKD 103.2 billion raised in all of 2022, and far exceeding the totals for 2023 and 2024.

Source: iFind, compiled by Gelonghui

Looking at the monthly performance, the IPO fundraising amounts for January-March 2026 were HKD 42.3 billion, HKD 50.1 billion, and HKD 17.5 billion respectively, with 13, 11, and 16 new listings each month, all significantly higher than the same period last year.

Source: iFind, compiled by Gelonghui

In the first quarter of 2026, the top three IPOs by fundraising amount were Muyuan Foods, Dongpeng Beverage, and Lankou Technology, raising HKD 12.1B, HKD 11.1B, and HKD 8.1B respectively. All three are dual-listed in A+H shares.

In addition, companies like Bairen Technology, Han’s Laser, MINIMAX-W, GigaDevice, Wuzhou Group, and Zhipu also raised over HKD 5 billion each.

Of course, some companies raised relatively small amounts, such as BBSB INTL, which only raised HKD 75 million.

Dividing by the primary industry according to Tonghuashun, among the 39 companies listed in Hong Kong in the first quarter of 2026 (excluding Lantu Auto), the most numerous are from the information technology sector, with 22 companies, accounting for 56.41% of the total, raising HKD 65.87B, accounting for 67.79% of the total funds.

Next is the consumer goods sector, with a total of 7 companies listed, including both non-daily and daily consumer products.

Regarding first-day price performance, among the 40 new stocks listed in Hong Kong this year, 33 closed higher on their first day, 2 remained flat, and 5 declined; the first-day break rate was 12.5%, further down from 27.4% in 2025, hitting the lowest level since 2017.

From the trend, the peak break rate was 45.7% in 2021, after which the trend of break rates generally declined over the following years.

Of course, since only one quarter has passed in 2026, the subsequent performance remains to be seen.

Source: iFind, compiled by Gelonghui

Looking at individual stocks, six new stocks in the first quarter saw their first-day gains exceed 100%, including Haizhi Technology Group, Jishi Perspective, De Shi-B, MINIMAX-W, Lexin Outdoors, and Fourier, with Haizhi Technology Group leading the list with a 242.2% increase.

Most new stocks experienced a brief rally after listing but then generally weakened, except for Zhipu and MINIMAX-W, which set different examples.

Zhipu and MINIMAX-W, both large model companies, listed in Hong Kong around January this year, with their first-day increases of 13.17% and 109.09%, respectively. They continued to trend upward afterward. As of March 31, both companies had accumulated gains of about 5 times.

Today, Zhipu surged another 31%, pushing its market capitalization into the HKD 400 billion range.

However, some companies performed poorly; besides Master Tong’s 49.17% decline, Youlesai Sharing and Zejing Shares also fell over 30% on their first day.

In addition to the significant increase in the number of listings and fundraising amounts, IPO subscription activity in Hong Kong this year has also been very hot: 21 companies had their public offering subscription multiples exceeding 1,000 times.

Among them, BBSB INTL, due to its small issuance scale, had an effective public subscription multiple exceeding 10k times; Youlesai Sharing, Haizhi Technology Group, and Huayuan Robots all exceeded 5,000 times, surpassing last year’s levels.

The success rate of IPO applications in Hong Kong varies greatly; only Wuzhou Group and Muyuan Foods had a 100% first-round success rate, 8 companies had a rate between 10% and 30%, and the remaining 29 new stocks had success rates below 10%, a significant decline from last year.

The decline in the success rate of public offerings this year is mainly due to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s reform of IPO issuance and pricing mechanisms in August 2025, which strengthened the influence of professional investors in IPO pricing.

Under the new rules, applicants can choose Mechanism A or B for their initial public offering allocation.

Under Mechanism A, the initial allocation for public subscriptions is set at 5%, with the maximum clawback limit reduced from 50% to 35%.

Under Mechanism B, a new option is introduced, requiring issuers to pre-select a proportion of shares allocated to the public subscription, with a minimum of 10% (up to 60%), and no clawback mechanism. The maximum percentage allocated to public subscription under Mechanism B was increased from 50% to 60%.

Most newly listed stocks after the new rules adopted Mechanism B, with many setting the public subscription allocation at the minimum 10%. The proportion allocated to individual investors is relatively low, raising the threshold for retail participation in Hong Kong IPOs.

Regarding cornerstone investors, among the 39 companies listed this year (excluding Lantu Auto), 35 introduced cornerstone investors, with Zhipu, MINIMAX-W, Bairen Technology, and Muyuan Foods having cornerstone stakes exceeding 50%; Youlesai Sharing, De Shi-B, Fourier, and Kailsi Technology did not introduce cornerstone investors.

It is worth noting that the popularity of A+H listings has continued from last year into this year. According to incomplete statistics, as of March 31, 15 A-share companies have successfully re-listed in Hong Kong, accounting for over 37%.

Additionally, over 100 A-share companies are at various stages of preparing for Hong Kong listings this year.

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s website shows that in the first quarter of 2026, about 190 new applications were accepted, with 371 existing applications and reapplications pending as of the end of 2025.

As of March 31, 17 companies had been approved by the Listing Committee and were awaiting listing, while 409 companies were in processing.

The IPO boom since last year has also raised investor concerns about large-scale lock-up releases.

According to HKEX rules, cornerstone investors typically have a 6-month lock-up period, and controlling shareholders are locked up for 6 to 12 months. This means that the peaks in IPO listings over the past two years will be followed by lock-up expiration peaks about half a year to a year later, with total unlockings in 2026 expected to exceed HKD 1.6 trillion.

Based on Haitong International’s data, the Hong Kong stock unlock volume in the first half of 2026 is expected to exceed HKD 450 billion; a peak unlock window is expected in September 2026, with about HKD 581.6 billion unlocking, mainly from Zijin Gold International, with an unlock value of about HKD 495.5 billion.

Additionally, several months will see unlock volumes exceeding HKD 1 trillion, including July (HKD 248 billion), December (HKD 176 billion), March (HKD 136 billion), June (HKD 111 billion), and October (HKD 115 billion).

Source: Haitong International, Gelonghui

On the policy front, the most discussed topic in the first quarter was the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s plan to expand the scope of confidential applications.

On March 13, HKEX issued a consultation paper seeking market opinions on a series of proposals to enhance Hong Kong’s listing mechanism competitiveness. Key measures include optimizing voting rights regulations and facilitating overseas-listed issuers to list in Hong Kong. The consultation period lasts 8 weeks, ending on May 8.

Among these, the proposal to relax the confidentiality submission option—currently limited to qualified secondary listing applicants, biotech firms, and special technology companies, or those granted exemptions—suggests allowing all new applicants to choose confidential submissions.

According to recent Hong Kong media reports, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po stated that the government is committed to maintaining strong IPO momentum, with the primary goal of ensuring a steady flow of high-quality issuers to Hong Kong. In 2025, Hong Kong’s IPO volume hit a four-year high, and the momentum continues strongly this year.

While emphasizing the importance of the IPO market, Chan also stressed the need to ensure that the market is led by high-quality issuers. He noted that attracting funds to Hong Kong is not an issue—large-scale capital inflows occurred last year. However, reputation, trust, and market confidence are core to the IPO market, so the authorities will continue to handle listing applications with caution and prudence.

Previous Popular Articles

Personal opinions are for reference only.