Investment firm Baillie Gifford and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd are participating in MiniMax Group Inc’s highly anticipated HK$4.8 billion (US$619 million) initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong, sources familiar with the matter said.
The Chinese AI company, which is seen as a challenger to OpenAI, priced its IPO at the top of the marketed range. Institutional demand was strong, with bids for over 70 times the shares available to them, excluding the cornerstone tranche. More than 460 institutional bids were reportedly received.
Other investors taking part include Norway’s Norges Bank Investment Management and asset manager Schroders plc. Global long-only investors and sovereign wealth funds took the majority of shares allocated to institutions outside the cornerstone tranche.
MiniMax’s shares are set to begin trading on Friday in Hong Kong, amid strong interest in Chinese AI listings. In grey market trading ahead of the debut, MiniMax’s shares jumped as much as 22%, reflecting high investor anticipation.
The IPO highlights China’s lean approach to AI, with firms like MiniMax and Zhipu operating with fewer resources than US counterparts such as OpenAI, while still attracting significant investor attention.
