Chinese chipmaker Hygon Information Technology debuted Friday on the market here for technology startups at almost double its initial public offering price, giving it a market capitalization of RMB 139.6 billion ($20.7 billion), reports Nikkei Asia. The stock opened at RMB 70 on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s tech-focused STAR market, 94% higher than the IPO price of RMB 36, buoyed by strong growth expectations.
The fabless company was founded in 2014 and mainly handles CPUs (central processing units) based on Intel’s x86 technology as well as DCUs (deep-learning computing units), high-performance processors developed in-house. Its R&D expenses are nearly 70% of sales.
The company’s CPUs and DCUs are currently only used in Chinese-made personal computers and servers that emphasize information security and cost performance. Sales last year were a modest RMB 2.3 billion.