GoKawiil
Tech News
Chinese AI startup Manus is reportedly negotiating a $500 million funding round valuing it at $4 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal, after resuming operations as an independent company. Prospective backers include IDG Capital, Boyu Capital, CATL, and returning investors Tencent, HSG and Zhenfund, with the company also weighing a restructuring ahead of a possible Hong Kong IPO.
Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong, imprisoned since 2020, has been hit with fresh charges that will extend his detention beyond a planned January 2027 release date. Media mogul Jimmy Lai, 78, has also been imprisoned since December 2020 on democracy-related charges, and commentators warn both men risk being forgotten by the world after Beijing's crackdown crushed the 2019-2020 protest movement.
Moonshot AI, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, has confidentially submitted an IPO application to the Hong Kong stock exchange, according to people familiar with the matter. Details on the size of the offering or timing were not disclosed.
Shein Global Holdings finally went public via a Hong Kong listing after previous attempts to list in New York and London fell through. Shares dropped as much as 9% in early trading before clawing back to roughly their IPO price by the end of the session.
Shein Global Holdings, the fast-fashion company founded in China and now headquartered in Singapore, is preparing to go public on the Hong Kong stock exchange next month. The IPO comes after the company shifted away from earlier plans for a US or London listing, and it is expected to price well below the valuation once floated for those attempts.
Shein filed to raise as much as HK$13.86 billion (about $1.77 billion) by selling roughly 280 million Class B shares priced between HK$47.60 and HK$49.50 apiece, implying a valuation near $27 billion at the top end. Pricing will be finalized August 31, with trading set to begin September 1, following Chinese regulatory approval after earlier listing attempts in London and New York fell through.
Alibaba priced an 80 billion Hong Kong dollar (about $10.2 billion) placement of 710 million new shares at HK$112.70 each, sold to non-U.S. investors and set to close Wednesday. The company says all proceeds will go toward expanding its AI infrastructure and broader AI capabilities. Shares fell as much as 10% in Hong Kong trading following the announcement.