Are Chinese markets seeing a boom in IPO or a bubble?

Chinese markets are experiencing a boom in new public share listings riding on the craze for artificial intelligence, which also has some market watchers wondering if an AI bubble is developing in China.

In Hong Kong, China-founded e-commerce and fast fashion giant Shein is set for a blockbuster listing debut on Tuesday after a delay. Raising more than $1.7 billion, it will be the city's biggest IPO, or initial public offering, where companies raise funds from the public, this year despite a shrink in the company's valuation.

China's biggest memory chipmaker CXMT raised at least $8.6 billion in its listing debut in Shanghai's Nasdaq-style STAR market in July and became mainland China's second-largest ever IPO. Its shares jumped 466% on the first day of trading.

Unitree, one of China's leading humanoid robot makers, also made its listing debut in Shanghai in August. Shares rose 460% on the first day of trading.

"The current IPO boom is powered by investor appetite for AI and robotics," said Ruiying Zhao, a senior research analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence. Shanghai's stock market, for one, is heavily driven by retail investors, analysts said.

For example, CXMT's IPO in Shanghai in late July "placed China in a strategically significant position in tech manufacturing related to AI," said Perris Lee, head of APAC equity capital markets for ION Analytics. "It's also a testament to China's tech self-sufficiency ambition."

Founded in China in 2016, CXMT's revenue surged more than 700% year-on-year to 50.8 billion yuan ($7.5 billion) in the first three months of 2026 on a spike in semiconductor demand from the rapid rise of AI.

A surge in IPOs in Hong Kong and Shanghai so far this year have already pushed their proceeds raised to surpass last year's.

According to financial data platform LSEG, IPO and secondary listing activities on the Hong Kong and Shanghai exchanges raised a total of over $54 billion from so far in 2026, surpassing last year's more than $46 billion. Many Chinese companies typically hope, through doing a second listing in Hong Kong, to help raise international capital.

Combined Hong Kong and Shanghai proceeds so far this year accounted for roughly 21% of globally, ranking them only behind only Nasdaq's 55% global share, LSEG said, where the mega $75 billion IPO by SpaceX in June propeled the U.S. market to the world's biggest IPO market this year.

"But the critical question remains: is the AI sentiment enough?" said Zhao from S&P, as the similar question that raised worries among investors in the US also now also applies to China. "For a durable market cycle, investors will demand sustainable revenue, visible profit margins, and realistic valuations."