CICC Captures $11.5 Billion in China AI IPOs as Listings Rebound After Crackdown

1 articles · Updated · Financial Times · Aug 9

$11.5 billion in IPO deal volume has put CICC atop mainland China and Hong Kong league tables this year, more than doubling its haul from the same period in 2025 and positioning it for a record year.
The surge is being driven by Beijing’s push to fund AI and hard-tech champions, plus a late-2024 stimulus package and looser listing rules that reopened the market after a prolonged slump.
CICC says years of AI-sector preparation helped it win mandates for listings including CXMT and Zhongji Innolight, with its investment banking, private equity and research teams working together to source and execute deals.
The comeback follows a sharp downturn: CICC’s investment-banking revenue fell to Rmb2.8 billion in 2024 from Rmb6.8 billion in 2021 after property-market stress and Xi Jinping’s financial-sector crackdown hit dealmaking.
Margins remain thin despite the boom — CXMT’s Rmb226.6 million underwriting fee was split among six banks — underscoring how Beijing is steering finance toward national strategy rather than pure profit.

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