Zhongji Innolight advances $7 billion Hong Kong IPO as AI demand fuels record growth
The China Securities Regulatory Commission has approved the share sale, which aims to raise up to $7 billion. The company reported a 192% surge in first-quarter revenue, driven largely by its position as a key supplier to artificial intelligence data centres.
China’s Zhongji Innolight has moved closer to a major capital markets debut after publishing its post-hearing draft prospectus, outlining plans for a Hong Kong share sale that could raise up to $7 billion. The Shenzhen-listed manufacturer of optical modules for artificial intelligence data centres aims to complete its listing in the first week of August, potentially becoming Hong Kong’s largest initial public offering of 2026.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission approved the firm’s Hong Kong listing plan on July 8, according to a statement released by the regulator on Friday. Zhongji stated it plans to use the proceeds for research and development, global production expansion, supply chain work, strategic acquisitions, and general working capital. The company has appointed Goldman Sachs, CICC, Morgan Stanley, GF Securities, Haitong International, Citi, HSBC, and China Galaxy International as overall coordinators for the transaction.
Financial disclosures in the prospectus highlight significant expansion, with revenue rising 192% to 19.5 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) in the three months ended March 31. Profit jumped 274% to 6.32 billion yuan during the same period. For the full year 2025, profit increased 116% to 11.58 billion yuan on revenue of 38.24 billion yuan. Zhongji cited industry consultant CIC to claim it has been the world’s largest optical interconnect solutions provider by revenue for five consecutive years since 2021.
The company’s growth is closely tied to its exposure to the United States, which accounted for 61.7% of first-quarter revenue, up from 57.3% for all of 2025. Zhongji disclosed that the U.S. Department of Defense added it to its Chinese military companies list on June 8. The firm stated that the designation is not an economic sanctions list and does not restrict its business with U.S. customers or trading in its securities, noting no material order cancellations or delays since the listing.
The proposed deal would surpass Luxshare Precision’s $3.1 billion share sale on July 6 to become the largest listing in Hong Kong this year, according to LSEG data. Companies have raised $33.8 billion from new listings in Hong Kong so far in 2026, a record year-to-date total that is more than double the $16.4 billion raised in the corresponding period in 2025.
