Innolight targets an $8bn Hong Kong IPO

A company few consumers know, but many AI data centres depend on, is lining up what could become Hong Kong’s biggest IPO since Alibaba. Zhongji Innolight, a Chinese maker of high-speed optical transceivers, has begun sounding out investors for a listing worth as much as $8bn, according to Bloomberg.

The Shenzhen-listed company won approval for the deal on Friday. It started meeting analysts and investors on Monday, and could begin taking orders as soon as this week, though the size and timing may still change.

Optical transceivers are a key but low-profile part of the AI infrastructure buildout. They convert data into light and back again, moving information between the chips and servers inside data centres. As AI systems scale up, demand for that hardware has risen with them.

Innolight is one of the world’s largest suppliers in the segment. Its InnoLight subsidiary describes itself as a leader in data-centre optics, and said it shipped some of the industry’s first 800G modules in 2020. The company competes in the same AI supply-chain category as rival Eoptolink, which is also preparing a Hong Kong listing that could raise up to $5bn.

The growth is already visible in the financials. Innolight reported first-quarter revenue of 19.5bn yuan ($2.9bn), nearly three times the level a year earlier. Profit rose by almost fourfold to 6.3bn yuan, while its Shenzhen-listed shares have gained about 430% over the past year.

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The company reached its current form by combining an industrial-equipment business with its optics arm, InnoLight, in Suzhou. A large banking group is leading the share sale, including Goldman Sachs, China International Capital Corp, Morgan Stanley, and GF Securities, with Citigroup, HSBC, and others also involved.

If priced at $8bn, the offering would mark Hong Kong’s largest first-time share sale since Alibaba raised $12.9bn in 2019. It would also top Luxshare Precision’s $3.1bn debut this month to become the city’s biggest listing of the year, CNBC reported.

That would add to an already strong stretch for the city’s markets. KPMG said Hong Kong raised about HK$210bn across 85 deals in the first half, its strongest start in five years, and analysts see more than 500 companies in the pipeline. Innolight’s deal alone could help push 2026 fundraising past the roughly $37bn raised in all of 2025.

There is still a risk hanging over the timing. Chip stocks have weakened on concerns that the AI spending surge is becoming harder to justify, and Innolight’s shares are about 27% below their June peak. The company did not respond to a request for comment.