Chinese semiconductor firm OmniVision climbs 6.7% in Hong Kong trading debut

SINGAPORE, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Shares of OmniVision Integrated Circuits 0501.HK rose as much as 6.7% in their Hong Kong debut on Monday after the Chinese semiconductor design company raised HK$4.8 billion ($615.91 million) from a second listing.

The Shanghai-listed firm 603501.SS opened at HK$108 each, 3.1% higher than its offer price of HK$104.80, before rising further to HK$111.80. Its offer price gave it a market capitalisation of around HK$131.7 billion ($16.9 billion).

On the Shanghai bourse, shares of OmniVision were up 0.6% at 132.26 yuan ($18.96) per share, giving it a market capitalization of about 159 billion yuan ($22.8 billion).

OmniVision is the third-largest digital image sensor provider globally, with a market share of 13.7% based on revenue from digital imaging solutions in 2024, it said in its Hong Kong listing prospectus, citing research and consultancy firm Frost & Sullivan.

It planned to use about 70% of the listing proceeds for research and development, with the balance for global market expansion, investments and acquisitions, its prospectus showed.

Its cornerstone investors include Boyu Capital's Wildlife Willow, UBS Asset Management Singapore and China Post's PSBC Wealth Management, according to its prospectus.

Hong Kong saw a resurgence in IPOs last year, becoming the world's top destination for listings, propelled by regulatory changes and pent-up demand from firms seeking access to capital after years of tough oversight from mainland Chinese authorities.

Around $37.2 billion was raised from 115 new listings, the most since 2021, according to LSEG data.

Shares of MiniMax Group 0100.HK, the second of China's so-called "AI tigers" to go public, doubled in value at their Hong Kong debut on Friday, and rose another 9% on Monday.

Shanghai-listed GigaDevice Semiconductor 3986.HK 603986.SS is scheduled to commence trading in Hong Kong on Tuesday, after having raised HK$4.68 billion from its second offering.

($1 = 6.9772 Chinese yuan renminbi)

($1 = 7.7939 Hong Kong dollars)