Global Times – Chinese A share tech stocks extended last week’s rally on Monday, with more than half of the sector rising in early trading and seven stocks posting gains of more than 5 percent.
On Sunday, Bloomberg described China’s market performance by “another key element of investing in Asia tech.”
Earnings growth for a gauge of China’s tech megacaps is poised for a major inflection point in 2026 when it’s expected to overtake Magnificent 7 for the first time since 2022, Bloomberg reported on Sunday.
As enthusiasm for the nation’s tech sector picked up in recent weeks, a growing pipeline of AI-related firms is seeking listings in China. During the first working week of 2026, two tech companies went public, drawing strong investor interest.
Chinese large language model start-up MiniMax made its debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Friday. The stock surged shortly after the opening, at one point jumping more than 80 percent to nearly HK$300 ($38.5) per share, pushing its market capitalization above HK$90 billion, according to the Securities Times.
As of 9:04 am on Monday, MiniMax shares were quoted at HK$396.6 in early call auction trading, lifting its market capitalization to more than HK$100 billion.
On Thursday, another Chinese tech firm, Zhipu AI, billed as the world’s first publicly listed large AI model company, debuted on the Hong Kong market. Its shares were priced at HK$116.2 apiece, implying a market capitalization of more than HK$51.1 billion, according to another Securities Times report.
As of 9:08 am on Monday, Zhipu AI shares were trading at HK$182.3 in early call auction trading, valuing the company at more than HK$80 billion.
In 2025, the overall valuation of China’s unicorn companies posted a sharp increase, with the country maintaining a global lead in both the number of firms and their share of total valuation, while taking the lead in several key sectors, according to China Media Group (CMG).
The total valuation of the world’s top 500 unicorn companies reached 39.14 trillion yuan in 2025, representing year-on-year growth of more than 30 percent, with the majority concentrated in the US and China. China accounted for 150 companies on the list, CMG reported.
By sector, unicorn firms were mainly concentrated in fintech, information technology and advanced manufacturing. A particularly notable trend last year was the surge in artificial intelligence unicorns, whose number rose to 36 from 20, an increase of 80 percent. Among them, the number of Chinese AI unicorns jumped from two to nine, marking a rise of 350 percent.
