SenseTime relaunches HK IPO after US blacklisting

Chinese artificial intelligence firm SenseTime relaunched its Hong Kong initial public offering on Monday, retaining the original price range and proceeds, a week after it was added to an United States investment ban list.

SenseTime plans to raise 6 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$767 million) through the public offering, which may make it the biggest listed Chinese AI firm after its listing.

SenseTime will sell 1.5 billion shares for between HK$3.85 and HK$3.99 yuan each, with the final price to be set on Thursday. It will start trading on the Hong Kong bourse on December 30, according to a latest regulatory filing.

SenseTime is now relying on updated cornerstone institutional investors, which will buy shares valued at about US$511 million. They include Shanghai AI Investment Fund, Shanghai Guosheng Group, SAIC Group and Guotai Junan Securities.

The investors' update shows that the company has "full support from the industry and capital market," SenseTime said in a statement to Shanghai Daily on Monday.

Earlier this month, the US Department of the Treasury added SenseTime to an investment blocked list as a "Chinese military-industrial complex company."

As a result, SenseTime decided to postpone the IPO to "to safeguard the interests of potential investors."

"The (US) accusations are unfounded and reflect a fundamental misunderstanding. We regret to have been caught in the middle of geopolitical disputes," SenseTime said in a statement following the US move.

As a software company, SenseTime is "committed to promoting the sustainable, responsible and ethical use of AI," it added.