MiniMax Group Soars in Hong Kong Debut After $619 Million IPO

MiniMax Group, a Shanghai‑based generative AI start‑up, begins trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Jan. 9 after pricing its initial public offering at HK$165 per share and raising roughly HK$4.82 billion (about US$619 million). The company upsized the offering and exercised an over‑allotment option to meet demand, selling just over 29 million shares at the offer price.

The listing drew extraordinary demand across both retail and institutional tranches. The retail allocation was oversubscribed by roughly 1,848 times, with about 420,000 individual investors submitting bids, while institutional investors bid for about 36.76 times the shares set aside for them. Fourteen cornerstone backers committed approximately US$350 million to the deal, representing roughly 56.5 percent of the offering; named strategic and institutional supporters include major sovereign and corporate investors and each cornerstone agreed to a six‑month lock‑up.

Trading opened sharply above the offer price, with the first trades around HK$235.40, about 42.7 percent higher than HK$165. The stock peaked intraday at HK$299, an 81.2 percent gain from the offer price, and was trading around HK$294 in the morning session, implying a market capitalization near HK$90.9 billion (about US$11.7 billion) at that level. Reported intraday peaks varied across snapshots of the volatile session, but all reflected a dramatic market reception far above the IPO valuation.

MiniMax arrives on the market without profitability. The company generated approximately US$53.4 million in revenue in the first nine months of 2025 but carried substantial accumulated losses, including a reported US$465 million loss in 2024. Roughly 73.1 percent of its revenue comes from overseas consumers through AI app subscriptions, and the company has said it serves more than 200 million users globally. Those figures signal rapid top‑line growth from international app sales, set against material operating deficits.

The listing comes amid a wave of AI and chip issuers tapping Hong Kong’s capital markets. Last year Hong Kong raised about US$36.5 billion from 114 new listings, and MiniMax’s debut follows a rival AI company's listing a day earlier. Market participants see MiniMax as a test of whether investor enthusiasm that has buoyed hardware and semiconductor issuers will extend to AI software and app businesses with heavy user growth but weak near‑term profitability.

The deal underscores two tensions shaping markets. On one hand, deep retail interest and strategic cornerstone support have driven a rich initial valuation and provided a capital influx for product development and international expansion. On the other hand, the company’s sizeable losses and dependence on overseas subscription income create execution and regulatory risks that will be watched closely by investors once the six‑month lock‑ups expire and earnings expectations are reset.

For Hong Kong, the IPO reinforces the city’s role as a fundraising venue for Chinese tech firms seeking international capital, even as regulators and market participants grapple with pricing volatility and the longer‑term sustainability of valuations in the fast‑evolving AI sector.