Chinese autonomous driving firms Pony Ai and WeRide slide in Hong Kong trading debut

Pony Ai and WeRide stocks dropped on Thursday as the Chinese autonomous driving developers started trading in Hong Kong, after raising nearly $1.2 billion in share offerings.

Pony Ai's share price slid nearly 11% in early trade after the company raised about $863 million. WeRide opened down about 8% after raising about $308 million.

Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index was up 0.5%.


Pony Ai founder and CEO James Peng said at the listing ceremony that recent events and liquidity in the U.S. have had a "temporary" impact on the firm's shares in Hong Kong, which are anchored to its stock traded in the U.S.

"We will use the funds raised for large-scale commercialisation so you can expect our business to expand," Peng said. "Short-term stock price fluctuation will not affect our development. Shareholders can rest assured."

WeRide plans to use its listing proceeds for hiring top talent, enhancing computing capability, global expansion and to establish a sales network, said founder and CEO Tony Han.

"It's normal for shares to fluctuate. In the long-term we are very confident in our stock performance," Han said.

The weak performance follows a drop in the companies' shares in New York on Wednesday. WeRide shares lost 5.2% while Pony Ai fell 2%.

Electric vehicle maker Seres Group made a soft debut in Hong Kong on Wednesday when its shares closed flat after falling as much as 10%. The stock was down 2% on Thursday.

Hong Kong has overtaken the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq as the top venue for listing this year, excluding special purpose acquisition companies, LSEG data showed. So far this year, companies have raised $31.2 billion in Hong Kong, nearly three times as much as in the same period last year.

Two other Chinese firms debuted in Hong Kong on Thursday.

Vigonvita Life Sciences shares surged as much as 191% in the morning session to HK$97 apiece, nearly tripling the HK$33.37 price of an initial public offering in which it raised HK$587 million.

Ningbo Joyson Electronic saw its shares fall 5% in early trading. The supplier of automotive electronics and safety components, which is already listed in Shanghai, raised HK$3.41 billion from shares priced HK$22 each.