PINESTONE (Pinestone Capital Limited) has released a supplemental announcement on its July 2026 voluntary disclosure and share placement, providing granular allocation plans for the HK$24.20 million in estimated net proceeds and clarifying the terms of its capital-raising initiative.
Operating backdrop and funding rationale • Operating expenses rose to HK$57.11 million in 2024 and HK$41.60 million in 2025, prompting the Board to pursue fresh equity funding. • Management estimates that approximately HK$60.00 million is required to complete a strategic shift toward an “AI + Virtual Asset (VA) ecosystem.” • The recent placement of new shares at HK$5.22 each—38.32% above the five-day average closing price of HK$3.774—will deliver HK$24.20 million in net proceeds under the general mandate.
Deployment of placement proceeds (HK$24.20 million) 1. Virtual Asset Licensing – HK$10.20 million, to be fully utilised by 2Q-3Q 2027 • HK$5.00 million: statutory liquid capital reserve (SFC FRR compliance). • HK$3.40 million: compliance consultants, legal counsel, cybersecurity audits and hiring of specialised Responsible & Compliance Officers. • HK$1.80 million: cold/hot wallet custody and AML/KYC system integration. This capital is distinct from the HK$5.10 million unutilised proceeds of the 2025 Rights Issue, which fund ongoing “VA Uplift” operating expenses rather than new licence requirements.
2. AI Application Expansion – HK$14.00 million, targeted completion by 4Q 2027 • HK$5.50 million: cloud-based GPU infrastructure and related hardware leases (approx. HK$0.23 million per month over 24 months). • HK$4.50 million: outsourced development of financial AI algorithms, risk engines and trading/CS automation, disbursed via milestone payments between 4Q 2026 and 2Q 2027. • HK$2.50 million: recruitment of two to three AI R&D and algorithm engineers over 12-18 months. • HK$1.50 million: marketing, digital client acquisition and commercialisation of AI services.
3. General working capital – HK$6.00 million, to cover staff costs (HK$2.50 million), premises and utilities (HK$1.50 million), compliance and advisory fees (HK$1.20 million) and IT/administrative expenses (HK$0.80 million) by 4Q 2027.
Strategic cooperation update PINESTONE continues preliminary discussions with Shanghai Fuquan on potential AI computing collaborations. No binding agreement has been signed, and operational details remain under due diligence.
Business integration plans • Margin financing and money-lending: deployment of AI-driven dynamic risk engines for real-time collateral monitoring, automated margin calls and loan-to-value controls. Capital earmarked for these lending activities is expected to be fully utilised by 30 June 2027. • Securities and VA brokerage: development of a smart order routing and execution engine aggregating liquidity across traditional exchanges and licensed VA platforms. • Compliance: application of NLP, facial recognition and OCR to enhance AML/KYC and transaction-monitoring efficiency.
Regulatory and corporate governance The company affirms that all other terms of the placing agreement remain unchanged and that further announcements will be issued upon any formalisation of the cooperation with Shanghai Fuquan, in line with Hong Kong Listing Rules.
Board composition (as at 21 August 2026) Executive Directors: Lee Chun Tung, Cheung Ka Yi Non-executive Directors: Wang Han, Lu Weixing Independent Non-executive Directors: Lau Kelly; Wong Chun Peng Stewart; Wong Chun Yip Gavin