Since the beginning of 2025, the Hong Kong stock market has experienced a strong upward rally, with the Hang Seng Index posting cumulative gains exceeding 30%. During this period, market trading volumes have consistently expanded, with significantly enhanced trading activity.

Alongside the market's strength, a "placement wave" has emerged in Hong Kong stocks, with numerous listed companies launching placement fundraising plans, including several billion-dollar scale fundraisings. For instance, BYD Company Limited (01211.HK) raised HK$43.3 billion through placement at the beginning of the year.

In the first eight months of this year, Hong Kong stock refinancing scale has exceeded HK$230 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of over 2.5 times, nearly HK$100 billion more than the IPO fundraising scale in the same period. Entering September, the pace of Hong Kong stock placement fundraising continues to accelerate, with HORIZONROBOT-W (09660.HK) attracting significant attention for its over HK$6 billion placement fundraising.

**Discounted Placement Raises Over HK$6.3 Billion, Share Price Drops on Heavy Volume**

On the morning of September 26, HORIZONROBOT-W announced that the company and existing shareholders and relevant agents have formally entered into placement and subscription agreements, implementing placement through a "top-up" method.

According to the agreement, existing shareholders will sell 639 million existing shares of the company, representing approximately 4.6% of HORIZONROBOT-W's current issued share capital. The placement price is HK$9.99 per share, representing a discount of approximately 5.75% to the closing price on September 25. The net proceeds are expected to be HK$6.339 billion.

The announcement also disclosed that HORIZONROBOT-W's directors believe the placement and subscription represent a good fundraising opportunity for the company and can expand the shareholder base.

The company intends to use the net proceeds for: (1) expanding overseas market business; (2) investing in R&D to further enhance technological capabilities and support the scaled application of mid-to-high-level assisted driving solutions; (3) investing in emerging fields, such as Robotaxi-related programs; (4) making strategic investments in upstream and downstream business partners.

Possibly affected by this news, HORIZONROBOT-W's share price experienced heavy volume decline on September 26, closing down 8.49% with turnover reaching HK$11.9 billion, creating the largest single-day turnover since listing.

Notably, this is not HORIZONROBOT-W's first fundraising this year. In fact, the company conducted a placement financing in June.

The announcement at that time showed that HORIZONROBOT-W, existing shareholders, and agents entered into placement and subscription agreements, planning to place 681 million shares through a "top-up" method at HK$6.93 per share, representing a discount of approximately 6.85% to the previous day's closing price, with net proceeds of approximately HK$4.674 billion.

HORIZONROBOT-W intended to use the net proceeds for: (1) accelerating domestic market business expansion; (2) R&D investment to further enhance technological strength; (3) other general corporate purposes.

According to the June 23 announcement, this placement fundraising has been completed.

Overall, since the second half of the year, HORIZONROBOT-W completed a HK$4.674 billion placement fundraising in June, and including this HK$6.339 billion placement, the two placements have raised net proceeds exceeding HK$11 billion.

**Why Do Technology Companies Lead in Placement Fundraising?**

This situation is not uncommon in this year's emerging technology industry. Data shows that as of September 26, Hong Kong listed companies have raised a total of over HK$284 billion through placements this year, far exceeding the total placement fundraising for the entire year of 2024.

From an industry perspective, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology have had over 50 placement cases this year, while real estate and software services have each had over 30 placement cases, ranking at the top.

Within the software services sector, there are multiple cases of technology companies' large-scale placement fundraising. Among them, UBTECH (09880.HK) conducted two placement fundraisings this year totaling nearly HK$3.4 billion; FOURTH PARADIGM (06682.HK) conducted two placement fundraisings totaling over HK$2.7 billion; DOBOT (02432.HK), ROBOSENSE (02498.HK), and BLACK SESAME (02533.HK) each had placement fundraising totals exceeding HK$1 billion this year.

From a causal perspective, these technology companies' placement fundraising activities are actually related to the industry and companies being in a rapid development phase, requiring continuous investment of large amounts of capital for R&D and market capture.

On the other hand, these technology companies' performance is not particularly "impressive," with many companies in continuous loss-making states. Their own "cash generation" capabilities are relatively weak, making them highly dependent on financing. The current market strength is more conducive to placement fundraising.

Taking HORIZONROBOT-W as an example, due to rapid development, from 2022 to 2024, the company's revenues were RMB 906 million, RMB 1.552 billion, and RMB 2.384 billion respectively, showing consecutive growth.

In the first half of 2025, the company's revenue again surged 67.64% year-on-year to RMB 1.567 billion. HORIZONROBOT-W stated that in the first half, the company's shipment volume recorded double-digit growth with significant improvement in per-vehicle value.

HORIZONROBOT-W also stated that in the first half, the company continued to maintain the number one market share in basic assisted driving solutions and overall assisted driving solutions among Chinese automotive companies, at 45.8% and 32.4% respectively, further consolidating the company's leading position in the Chinese market.

However, on the other hand, HORIZONROBOT-W is facing significant losses. In 2024, the company's adjusted net loss was RMB 1.681 billion, expanding 2.8% year-on-year; in the first half of 2025, the company's adjusted net loss expanded 65.7% year-on-year to RMB 1.333 billion.

Despite poor profit performance, HORIZONROBOT-W's share price has soared nearly 170% this year, frequently hitting new highs recently, which may be the confidence behind the company's two placement fundraisings exceeding HK$10 billion in the second half.

UBTECH, DOBOT, and other emerging technology stocks that conducted placement fundraising this year basically share characteristics of continuous revenue growth, consecutive profit losses, and rising share prices.

On September 5, 2025, at the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Future Technology Summit, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Group CEO Nicolas Aguzin stated: "With significant valuation improvements in the technology sector, numerous technology companies are seizing market windows to actively raise funds. Nearly 40% of this year's total refinancing comes from technology companies. Some high-tech companies, through continuous additional issuances, have post-listing refinancing amounts far exceeding their initial listing fundraising, fully demonstrating global investors' long-term optimism toward the technology sector."

Huatai Securities also stated in a recent research report that benefiting from the re-acceleration of domestic AI progress, Hong Kong technology stocks have rebounded rapidly recently. The Hang Seng Tech Index and Hang Seng Stock Connect Technology Index have risen nearly 20% cumulatively from July lows. Looking ahead, with the Federal Reserve's new round of easing cycle beginning and new progress in internet and technology sectors, Hong Kong stock sentiment may still have further room for improvement, and the technology sector may still be in a positioning zone.

However, judging from HORIZONROBOT-W's performance today, continuous large-scale placement financing in the short term has still caused some capital outflows. Its share price declined while trading volume showed extremely significant expansion, and there may still be adjustment risks ahead, which investors need to monitor.

**As Hong Kong Stock 100 Launches, Who Can Break Through to Make the List?**

Although short-term placements bring volatility to share prices, from a long-term perspective, the potential of intelligent driving and robotics tracks is indeed worth anticipating - policy support continues, technological breakthroughs are accelerating, and capital is also continuously backing the sector, which has entered a "commercialization realization period."

Although overall profitability hasn't kept up yet, scale effects are beginning to emerge: HORIZONROBOT-W's shipment volume surged in the first half, and UBTECH's robot orders are also growing - these are all signals. It can be said that the long-term growth space of this track is clearly visible.

In such industry waves, the Hong Kong Stock 100, which has always focused on Hong Kong's cutting-edge technology, is also keeping pace with industrial transformation trends. Since its establishment, the Hong Kong Stock 100 has continuously optimized its list structure over more than ten years, adding multiple sub-sectors to more comprehensively reflect the new momentum of the Hong Kong stock market. It is reported that the 12th Hong Kong Stock 100 selection will also launch featured lists related to intelligent driving and technology, precisely capturing new industry forces.

As the 12th Hong Kong Stock 100 launches, who can break through to be selected? Let's look forward together.