Pinestone Capital Limited (Pinestone) has released supplemental details of its planned share placement under general mandate, aimed at accelerating the group’s transition toward an “AI + Virtual Asset (VA) ecosystem” and strengthening its liquidity buffer amid rising operating expenses.
Pinestone expects net proceeds of approximately HK$24.20 million from the placement, to be executed at HK$5.22 per share—about 38.32% above the average closing price of HK$3.774 over the five trading days preceding the signing of the placing agreement.
Use of Proceeds 1. Virtual-Asset Licensing (HK$10.20 million) • HK$5.00 million will be locked as a Statutory Liquid Capital Reserve to meet Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) Financial Resources Rules for a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licence by 2Q 2027. • HK$3.40 million is earmarked for one-off compliance, legal and cybersecurity advisory fees, with full deployment targeted by 3Q 2027. • HK$1.80 million will fund cold/hot wallet custody infrastructure and AML/KYC system integration by 1Q 2027.
2. AI Infrastructure & Commercialisation (HK$14.00 million) • HK$5.50 million over 24 months for GPU cloud nodes, server rentals and related infrastructure (completion by 4Q 2027). • HK$4.50 million for external vendors to develop financial AI algorithms, risk engines and trading automation (up to 2Q 2027). • HK$2.50 million to recruit two to three AI R&D specialists or equivalent outsourced talent (by 1Q 2027). • HK$1.50 million for marketing, client onboarding incentives and education initiatives (by 4Q 2027).
3. General Working Capital (HK$6.00 million) • Staff costs: HK$2.50 million (by 4Q 2027). • Office and utilities: HK$1.50 million. • Compliance, legal, audit and PR: HK$1.20 million (by 3Q 2027). • IT maintenance and administration: HK$0.80 million.
Distinction from Prior Rights-Issue Funds An unutilised HK$5.10 million from the 2025 Rights Issue was previously allocated to a “VA Uplift” project covering recurring operating costs for existing licences. The new HK$10.20 million allocation is reserved exclusively for capital and infrastructure requirements linked to the forthcoming VASP licence application, and cannot be substituted by the earlier reserve.
Strategic Rationale Operating expenses have risen from HK$57.11 million in 2024 to HK$41.60 million in 2025 despite optimisation efforts. Management forecasts that a full digital transformation will require around HK$60.00 million of capital. Deploying AI-driven risk engines, smart order routing and automated AML/KYC tools is expected to enhance margin-financing, money-lending and brokerage efficiencies, aligning Pinestone with technology-adopting peers.
Expansion of Financing Operations Proceeds will complement capital earmarked for margin-financing and money-lending portfolios, targeting high-net-worth and corporate clients. The group plans to maintain loan-to-value ratios near 20% for margin lending (interest rates 8%-12% p.a.) and offer HK$1.00 million–HK$3.00 million bridge loans at 10%-15% p.a., with full deployment of funds by 30 June 2027.
Strategic Cooperation Update Discussions initiated in mid-2026 with Shanghai Fuquan regarding AI computing power support remain preliminary. No binding agreements have been signed, and operational modalities are still under negotiation. Pinestone will disclose further developments in accordance with Hong Kong Listing Rules.
Board Confirmation All other terms of the placing agreement remain unchanged. The directors affirm that vendor selection for AI solutions is ongoing and that the timetable for fund utilisation extends through 2027.