Chinese artificial-intelligence supply-chain companies are expected to keep pursuing Hong Kong listings despite a pullback in data-center valuations, according to Simon Yuan, Citi’s head of China investment banking.
In an interview with Reuters on the sidelines of the IMF meetings in Bangkok, Yuan said the recent valuation decline had largely originated in the U.S. market. He expects future Chinese AI supply-chain offerings to continue in Hong Kong as investors apply closer scrutiny to valuations.
Why Yuan expects demand to hold up
Yuan said companies planning Hong Kong listings benefit from a roughly even split between domestic Chinese and international demand. He also pointed to rising southbound investment from mainland China as an important source of local liquidity.
Chinese hardware suppliers have gained both sales volume and higher unit prices during the global AI infrastructure buildout, he said. Many have also established manufacturing operations outside mainland China, a move Yuan said helps them serve global customers and reduce geopolitical friction.
Those factors underpin his confidence in the pipeline, but the outlook is conditional. Yuan warned that a broad reversal in the U.S. AI cycle would spread to other markets, including Hong Kong.
