By Jiahui Huang
Chinese robotics company Rokae (Shandong) Robotics' shares surged in their Hong Kong trading debut, benefiting from strong investor appetite for the fast-growing robotics sector.
Shares climbed as much as 13% to 43.00 Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to $5.49, Thursday morning, compared with its IPO price of HK$38.00.
The company raised HK$875.2 million via its initial public offering and intends to use the net proceeds for research and development, to fund the expansion of its overseas sales and service network, and to improve manufacturing efficiency.
Rokae (Shandong) Robotics manufactures and sells robotics products including industrial robots, collaborative robots and embodied AI robots. It has yet to make a profit and reported a net loss of 179.3 million yuan and revenue of 521.7 million yuan last year.
Many robotics companies are racing for IPOs in Hong Kong this year amid investor appetite fueled by Beijing's push to become a global leader in physical AI industry.
Industry leader Unitree Robotics recently filed for an IPO in Shanghai.
Write to Jiahui Huang at jiahui.huang@wsj.com