An illustration photograph reveals Moore Threads brand in a smartphone in Suqian, Jiangsu Province, China on October 30, 2025.
Cfoto | Future Publishing | Getty Photographs
China’s hottest artificial-intelligence listings are delivering eye-popping positive factors.
Shares of chipmaker MetaX Built-in Circuits skyrocketed nearly 700% of their Shanghai market debut final week, whereas Moore Threads soared over 400% on its first day of buying and selling earlier this month.
Whereas home buyers scramble for publicity to promising Chinese language tech listings, abroad buyers are largely ignored from partaking in such blockbuster choices.
Overseas retail buyers particularly are shut out of mainland China IPOs: “It is not even doable. Except they open up an account with a Chinese language dealer,” stated Chris Zhang, govt director at Chinese language monetary companies agency China Fortune Securities Firm.
Opening an onshore brokerage account with a Chinese language securities agency requires a linked Chinese language checking account, which usually requires a proof of residence in China, or a Chinese language visa with enough validity. Foreigners additionally must already maintain different mainland-listed shares earlier than being eligible to take part in an IPO lottery.
Most international banks would not have the required preparations with Chinese language brokers to help account openings, Zhang stated, making the method unworkable for the overwhelming majority of abroad retail buyers.
Official steering from Shanghai’s metropolis authorities states that solely a slim set of international people can immediately open brokerage accounts for A-shares — shares listed in mainland China. For instance, foreigners with everlasting resident standing, employees in China, or foreigners working overseas with fairness incentive plans in A-share listed firms.
For a lot of international buyers, Inventory Join, a program that enables Hong Kong and mainland Chinese language exchanges mutual entry to one another’s shares, is essentially the most handy strategy to acquire publicity to Chinese language equities.
It permits abroad buyers to purchase A-shares by way of their Hong Kong brokers with no need an onshore account, or particular licenses— however the scheme presents little assist relating to IPOs, and even freshly listed shares. Entry additionally depends upon Hong Kong brokers’ eligibility necessities, reminiscent of minimal account balances and danger disclosures.
“Inventory Join doesn’t work as a result of newly listed shares are usually not included in Inventory Join as but. Normally it takes a couple of weeks to months ought to the shares qualify,” stated Theodore Shou, chief funding officer at Skybound Capital.
Inclusion of firms in the Inventory Join scheme depends upon whether or not a inventory meets the eligibility guidelines reminiscent of enough buying and selling exercise and market worth, which regularly requires a interval of buying and selling and information historical past for qualifying.
Institutional publicity
Northbound buying and selling, which refers to abroad and Hong Kong buyers shopping for mainland China shares through Inventory Join and different schemes, won’t be obtainable till “usually a number of months after any itemizing,” Shou stated. Even then, it is not a assure that Moore Threads and MetaX will likely be included.
Abroad retail buyers can acquire restricted publicity by way of offshore funds that put money into A-shares.
Overseas retail buyers considering STAR Market IPOs, reminiscent of Moore Threads and MetaX, can put money into non-China domiciled funds that put money into A-shares and often these funds do take part in IPOs, Shou stated.
China’s STAR Market is a Nasdaq-style tech board in Shanghai centered on strategic sectors reminiscent of semiconductors, AI and biotech, with looser profitability necessities and tighter entry for international retail buyers.
“Nonetheless, such participation will likely be oblique, very restricted, and principally non-meaningful,” he caveated, as IPO allocations could also be tiny relative to the fund’s complete property.
Whereas international retail buyers are largely locked out of entry to mainland Chinese language IPOs, some giant establishments can take part in them.
A program for certified international institutional Traders, or QFIIs, permits authorized international establishments to speculate immediately in onshore Chinese language shares, together with IPOs. However it’s designed for giant asset managers, sovereign funds and banks, not particular person buyers.
QFIIs embrace the likes of funding banks reminiscent of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs in addition to central banks, amongst a whole bunch of different members.
The QFII and renminbi QFII schemes are applications that enable authorized institutional buyers to commerce onshore A-shares and take part in IPOs, however they require approval from the China Securities Regulatory Fee, with foreign-exchange registration and settlement overseen by the State Administration of Overseas Change, or SAFE.
Whereas China’s QFII and RQFII regimes don’t set express asset-size or operating-history thresholds, candidates should be establishments with sound monetary standing, related funding expertise, sturdy governance and compliance techniques, and a clear regulatory report.
They have to additionally appoint an onshore custodian and full foreign-exchange registration with SAFE.
The CSI 300 Data Know-how Index, which measures the efficiency of information-technology firms inside China’s CSI 300, is up 32% 12 months to this point, in contrast with the benchmark CSI 300, up 17%, and Hong Kong’s Grasp Seng Tech Index, which has gained 24% up to now this 12 months.
