Montage Technology soars 50% in Hong Kong debut after $902 million AI chip IPO

Montage Set to Debut After $902 Million Hong Kong Share Sale

The company designs chips that help speed data flows within data centers and AI accelerators, and was the largest global memory interconnect chip supplier in 2024. Chinese chip designer Montage Technology Co. is set to begin trading in Hong Kong after a share sale that priced at the top of the offered range, raising $902 million. The Shanghai-based company is joining a wave of Chinese artificial intelligence firms tapping the market, including January debuts by GigaDevice Semiconductor Inc. and OmniVision Integrated Circuits Group Inc. Ahead of the debut, Montage's stock jumped more than 50% in gray market trading from the issue price of HK$106.89 apiece. The company sold 65.9 million shares at that price on Thursday, a 44% discount to the Shanghai-listed stock that closed at 170.90 yuan the previous day. The first-day performance will be a key test of resilience for Chinese AI-related stocks after record debut pops last year. But technology stocks last week were caught up in a global selloff, in addition to being hurt by speculation that internet and tech firms may become the next target after a recent tax hike in China on telecommunication firms. "We maintain our positive view on Montage as a rare opportunity among China semiconductor names to gain exposure to the global data center expansion." Citigroup Inc. analysts led by Kevin Chen wrote in a note earlier this month, citing their view on Montage's Shanghai-listed shares. Montage designs chips that help speed data flows within data centers and AI accelerators. It was the largest global memory interconnect chip supplier in 2024, with more than one third of market share by revenue, according to a listing document filed with the Hong Kong stock exchange, citing US consultancy Frost & Sullivan. The company's shares have more than doubled over the past year in Shanghai, giving it a valuation of about $29 billion. Montage recently reported net income of 2.15 billion yuan to 2.35 billion yuan for 2025. The metric could rise to 3.3 billion yuan in 2026, according to analysts polled by Bloomberg. China International Capital Corp., Morgan Stanley and UBS Group AG are joint sponsors of Montage's listing.

Chinese chip firm Montage Technology surges over 50% in Hong Kong debut

China's Montage Technology ⁠jumped more than 50% in its Hong Kong trading debut on Monday after the world's biggest memory interconnect chip supplier raised HK$7.04 billion ($900 million) in a share sale to mainly fund research. Montage makes data centre memory interface chips that help artificial intelligence computer networks move data faster between processors and memory. The shares opened at HK$168 compared to their offer price of HK$106.89, hit a high of HK$171 before trimming gains to trade at around HK$163. The stock was the third most actively traded stock by turnover early on Monday. Shanghai-listed Montage offered 65.9 million shares in Hong Kong at a maximum offer price of HK$106.89 each. Besides R&D, the proceeds will be used to fund commercialisation, strategic investments or acquisitions and working capital, according to its prospectus. The retail portion of the offering was more than 700 times oversubscribed and the international tranche more than 37 times, according to the company's allotment results announcement on Friday. The offering garnered 17 cornerstone investors who committed $450 million, including JPMorgan Asset Management, UBS Asset Management and Yunfeng Capital. Founded in 2004, Montage is the biggest memory interconnect chip supplier globally, with a 36.8% market share by revenue in 2024, according to its prospectus, which cited consultancy and research firm Frost & Sullivan. The company's revenue increased 58% to 4.1 billion yuan ($591 million) in the nine months ended September 30, 2025, from 2.6 billion yuan in the same period a year ago. Net profit jumped 64% to 1.6 billion yuan. Winston Ma, an adjunct professor at NYU School of Law and former head of North America for CIC, China's sovereign wealth fund, said U.S. sanctions limiting China's access to advanced chips such as Nvidia's were accelerating capital and policy support for China's domestic semiconductor value chain, including "middleware" chip designers such as Montage. "The strong lineup of global cornerstone buyers suggests that Chinese AI-related IPOs are attracting institutional investors back to ⁠the HKEX market again," he ⁠said, referring to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. "Montage's Hong Kong debut underscores how China's AI chip ecosystem is moving 'up the stack' from basic components toward specialised chips that connect processors and memory inside data centers," he added. Montage's listing also comes as Hong Kong logged its strongest start to a year since 2021, with IPOs and second listings raising about $5.5 billion in January, the most since $7.6 billion was raised in January 2021, LSEG data showed. Upcoming debuts include Axera Semiconductor and industrial automation equipment maker Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment . CICC, Morgan Stanley and UBS were joint sponsors of Montage's offering.