Pony AI, WeRide may fall in Hong Kong after duelling robotaxi listings
While much of that headway is being made domestically, the Chinese companies are standing up operations in places such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Singapore
[HONG KONG] Pony AI and WeRide may fall when they begin trading in Hong Kong after the pair of Chinese robotaxi firms battled for investors for their public offerings, which raised more than US$1.1 billion.
Both stocks dropped in Hong Kong’s grey market on Wednesday (Nov 5) ahead of the official debut. That’s after Pony AI and WeRide’s American depositary receipts declined since news emerged about the pricing of their Hong Kong shares.
After rallying more than most other major stock indexes this year, concerns about lofty valuations have soured the mood in Hong Kong in recent weeks, with the Hang Seng becoming one of the worst-performing benchmarks in the past month. That’s taken the shine off what had otherwise been a stellar year for the city, which is headed for its best year for new listings since 2021.
“These offerings have a timing issue,” said Sandeep Rao, an analyst at Leverage Shares. “They are either six months too late or a year too early for drawing investor attention.”
During their offerings, Pony AI raised HK$6.7 billion (S$1.1 billion), while WeRide’s deal fetched HK$2.4 billion, giving both unprofitable firms funds to keep working on their self-driving technology.
Competition during the offerings was intense, with WeRide saying that Pony AI misinformed investors with inaccurate information.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
More broadly, Pony AI, WeRide and Baidu’s Apollo Go are outnumbering American counterparts with more robotaxi projects progressing from testing to various stages of commercialisation, according to BloombergNEF.
While much of that headway is being made domestically, the Chinese companies are standing up operations in places such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Singapore, and looking to launch in Germany, the UK and elsewhere in Europe.
The potential for the technology to pay off makes the shares a good long-term bet, according to Evelyn Zhang, an analyst at Daiwa Capital Markets Hong Kong.
SEE ALSO
“Pony AI and WeRide have presented the market with good plans to monetise the technology,” she said. “Pony AI and WeRide are now scarce investable assets in autonomous driving globally.” BLOOMBERG
Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services
