GigaDevice Eyes Hong Kong IPO Amid Challenges

The Shanghai-listed chip designer is applying for a second listing in Hong Kong, following a recent trend for Chinese companies to make such dual listings

Key Takeaways:

GigaDevice has filed for a Hong Kong IPO, reporting its net profit surged in 2024 but is still well below the level from 2022

The chip maker's valuation is higher than its global peers, but its operations could be affected by U.S. export restrictions on chip design software

 A rush of Mainland China-listed companies onto the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, starting with home appliance maker Midea Group last September and culminating with the $4.5 billion listing for EV battery giant CATL, has sparked a goldrush among similar wannabes looking to hit up Hong Kong-based investors for cash. One of the latest to join that crowd is GigaDevice Semiconductor Inc. (603986.SH), which submitted its listing application earlier this month, and is also part of a growing tide of semiconductor firms with Hong Kong in its sights.

Founded in 2005 by Zhu Yiming and nurtured in the Beijing Tus Business Incubator, GigaDevice focuses on specialized memory and microcontroller unit (MCU) chips. It was restructured into a joint-stock company in December 2012 and brought in Hong Kong-based InfoGrid as a shareholder, before making its first listing in Shanghai in 2016. Currently, Zhu is the company's largest shareholder with a 6.89% stake, followed by Hong Kong InfoGrid, controlled by Shu Qingming, a former company director, with 1.97%.

Boom-bust cycles

Integrated circuits, as microchips are often called, have benefited in recent years from the rapid rise of AI and electric vehicles. As that happened, the global IC market grew from $356.2 billion ...