Zhongji Innolight seeks up to $7 billion in Hong Kong's biggest listing in seven years

The offering

Zhongji Innolight, a Shenzhen-listed maker of optical transceivers, is seeking to raise up to HK$55.05 billion ($7 billion) through a Hong Kong public offering. The company is selling 54.5 million shares at a maximum price of HK$1,010 each, according to an exchange filing on Wednesday. If the 15% over-allotment option is fully exercised, the deal could reach HK$63.3 billion ($8.1 billion). The listing would be Hong Kong's largest share sale in nearly seven years, since Alibaba Group's $12.9 billion offering in 2019, and ranks as Asia's second-largest this year after Chinese chipmaker CXMT Corp's $8.6 billion Shanghai STAR Market IPO.

Cornerstone investors

The company has secured 33 cornerstone investors who have agreed to purchase shares worth $3.45 billion, representing about 49.1% of the base offering at the maximum price. Cornerstone investors commit to buying shares before the listing and typically hold them for a set period. The group includes Singapore state investor Temasek, Hillhouse-linked HHLR Advisors, JPMorgan Asset Management, BlackRock, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Wellington Management, Bain Capital, Boyu Capital, Alibaba, Tencent, CPP Investments, Oaktree and General Atlantic.

Company and financials

Zhongji Innolight produces optical transceivers, small devices that move large amounts of data through fibre-optic cables, used in data centres, cloud networks and artificial intelligence computing systems. The company's revenue rose 60.3% to 38.24 billion yuan ($5.7 billion) in 2025, while net profit more than doubled to 11.58 billion yuan. In the first quarter of 2026, revenue nearly tripled to 19.50 billion yuan, reflecting surging demand for AI-related infrastructure. Proceeds from the listing will be used for research and development, global production expansion and enhancement of supply-chain capabilities, the prospectus said.

AI infrastructure race

The listing comes as Chinese technology companies seek funding to expand artificial intelligence infrastructure, racing with the United States to build faster data centres and computing networks. Optical transceivers are critical components in these systems, and Zhongji's rapid revenue growth mirrors the broader investment boom in AI hardware. The heavyweight cornerstone investor lineup reflects the company's central role in the AI supply chain.

## Timeline Zhongji is expected to announce the final offer price by July 29, with shares slated to debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange the following day, July 30. The order-taking process began on July 21, according to Bloomberg. The listing is being managed by Goldman Sachs, among other banks.