Autonomous driving firms Pony.ai and WeRide have received approval from China’s securities regulator for secondary listings in Hong Kong, as the companies look to raise funds and continue their global expansion.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission announced Tuesday that both companies had filed to issue and list shares in Hong Kong. Chinese companies seeking a foreign listing are required to file an application with the CSRC in advance, giving the regulators final say on whether the company can go public overseas.
Pony.ai and WeRide, which are already listed in the United States, can issue about 102 million new shares each for their Hong Kong listings.
WeRide has tapped Morgan Stanley and China International Capital Corporation to work on the listing, according to a Reuters report. Neither WeRide nor Pony.ai immediately responded to CNBC’s inquiry on their IPO plans.
Pony.ai CEO James Peng had told CNBC in July that the company was exploring a Hong Kong listing. Hong Kong would offer “close proximity” to the company’s home market of China, which is something that would interest a lot of investors, Peng said.
Pony.ai and WeRide, both headquartered in Guangzhou, are amongst a growing wave of Chinese companies seeking secondary listings in Hong Kong, in what has been a bounce-back year for the city’s IPO market.
The Chinese companies’ move to dual list also comes as they expand their presence to new regions, including the Middle East, Europe and Asian countries such as Singapore, although they have yet to receive full approvals to operate their robotaxis in most of those regions.
In the U.S., both companies have partnered with Uber, with hopes of deploying their robotaxis on the firm’s ride-hailing platform after receiving approval. In China, they have already begun operating fully autonomous robotaxis in major cities, which can be hailed via their respective apps.
The companies have smaller autonomous vehicle fleets when compared to more established players such as Baidu‘s Apollo Go in China and Alphabet‘s Waymo in the U.S.
Pony.ai launched its IPO in November with shares priced at $13 apiece — the stock has gained more than 60% since. WeRide debuted on the Nasdaq, with the IPO priced at $15.50 a share in October 2024, and its stock has lost over 30% so far.
Source: CNBC