Shares of Chinese chipmaker MetaX shares surge nearly 700% on stock debut

Shares of Chinese chipmaker MetaX Integrated Circuits surged about 700% during their market debut in Shanghai on Wednesday, following the company's almost $600 million first public offering.

MetaX shares began trading at 700 yuan ($99.4) on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's Star Market index, which is heavily weighted towards technology companies, 569% above its initial public offering price of 104.66 yuan ($14.8).

Continuing its rise during the daytime session, the shares reached over 835 yuan ($118.6) by midday, bringing their total value above the initial public offering price to date to 697%.

Analysts stated that the interest in MetaX shares was a sign of investor confidence in China's willingness to increase its self-sufficiency in AI applications and services by relying on domestically produced chips, in the face of US restrictions on the chip sector.

Another Chinese chipmaker, Moore Threads, saw its shares gain 425% on its first day of trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on December 4.

Founded in 2020 by former AMD employees, Moore Threads raised 4.2 billion yuan ($596.3 million) by selling 40.1 million shares at the start of its initial public offering.

The company is known for its graphics processing units (GPUs) for AI model training and general-purpose computing.