SINGAPORE, July 3 (Reuters) – Chinese robot maker Unitree Robotics has received regulatory approval for a Shanghai listing through which it plans to raise 4.2 billion yuan ($619.4 million), moving it closer to one of China’s most watched technology initial public offerings.
The approval comes as China’s onshore IPO market shows signs of life after a long slowdown. China Resources New Energy shares more than doubled in their Shenzhen debut on Thursday after the wind and solar company raised 24.5 billion yuan, Asia’s biggest IPO so far this year.
China’s securities regulator said in a Thursday notice that it had approved Unitree’s application for the IPO on Shanghai’s STAR Market, the city’s technology board. The approval is valid for 12 months.
A-share IPOs, or listings on the Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing exchanges, raised $7.7 billion in the first half of the year, up 64.4% from the year-earlier period, LSEG data showed.
Unitree plans to sell at least 40.45 million shares, according to its prospectus filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange previously. The company has not set a launch date or price range.
Unitree plans to use the proceeds for robot artificial intelligence model research, robot body research, new robot product development and a smart robot manufacturing base, according to the prospectus.
The Hangzhou-based company makes humanoid robots, four-legged robots and robot parts.
Its listing would test investor demand for China’s robotics sector, a key part of Beijing’s push to develop machines that can use AI in factories, homes and public spaces.
($1 = 6.7812 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Michael Perry)