Pony, WeRide fall in HK debuts after duelling robotaxi listings
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Pony AI dropped 11 per cent to HK$124, while WeRide slid 7.8 per cent to HK$24.98 on Nov 6 in morning trading.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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HONG KONG - Pony AI and WeRide fell on their trading debuts in Hong Kong after the pair of Chinese robotaxi firms battled for investors for their public offerings, which raised more than US$1.1 billion (S$1.4 billion).
Pony AI dropped 11 per cent to HK$124, while WeRide slid 7.8 per cent to HK$24.98 on Nov 6 in morning trading.
That is after both companies’ American depositary receipts had declined since they priced their Hong Kong shares.
After rallying more than most other major stock indexes in 2025, concerns about lofty valuations have soured the mood in Hong Kong in recent weeks, with the Hang Seng becoming one of the worst-performing benchmarks in the past month.
That has taken the shine off what had otherwise been a stellar year for the city, which is headed for its best year for new listings since 2021.
“These offerings have a timing issue,” said Leverage Shares analyst Sandeep Rao. “They’re either six months too late or a year too early for drawing investor attention.”
During their offerings, Pony AI raised HK$6.7 billion (S$1.13 billion), while WeRide’s deal fetched HK$2.4 billion, giving both unprofitable firms funds to keep working on their self-driving technology.
Competition during the offerings was intense, with WeRide saying that Pony AI misinformed investors with inaccurate information.
More broadly, Pony AI, WeRide and Baidu’s Apollo Go are outnumbering American counterparts with more robotaxi projects progressing from testing to various stages of commercialisation, according to BloombergNEF.
While much of that headway is being made domestically, the Chinese companies are standing up operations in places like Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Singapore, and looking to launch in Germany, Britain and elsewhere in Europe.
The potential for the technology to pay off makes the shares a good long-term bet, according to Daiwa Capital Markets Hong Kong analyst Evelyn Zhang.
“Pony AI and WeRide have presented the market good plans to monetise the technology,” she said. “Pony AI and WeRide are now scarce investable assets in autonomous driving globally.” BLOOMBERG
