Horizon Robotics' Trading Debut

By Scott Murdoch and Donny Kwok

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Shares of Horizon Robotics soared 28.3% in its trading debut on Thursday after the Chinese autonomous vehicle maker raised $696 million in this year's largest initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong.

The company sold 1.355 billion shares at HK$3.99 each, according to the company's filings.

The stock began trading at HK$5.12 each, while the Hang Seng Index was down 0.9% early in the session on Thursday. It was the most actively traded stock by turnover in early trade.

Horizon Robotics' deal eclipsed that of China Resources Beverage, which last week finalized its $650 million new share sale. It is also the largest tech sector IPO in Hong Kong since SenseTime Group raised $740 million in late 2021.

Horizon Robotics' shares surged following China Resources Beverage's 15% gain on its debut in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

These positive performances provide hope for dealmakers that negative sentiment towards Hong Kong IPOs, resulting from volatile financial markets and globally high interest rates over the past two years, is starting to ease.

New share sale volumes in Hong Kong, prior to China Resources Beverage and Horizon Robotics, were at the lowest level in two decades, according to Dealogic data.

Retail investors bid for nearly 34 times the amount of stock available in Horizon Robotics' IPO, while the institutional portion was 14 times covered, according to the company's filings.

Horizon Robotics had an implied market capitalization of $6.7 billion from the IPO, according to its filings.