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Themis Qi

Momenta, a leading self-driving technology start-up in China, has become the latest domestic firm to receive regulatory approval from Beijing for listing in Hong Kong under an entity incorporated offshore.
The nod comes over four months after the last green light given to an applicant with a similar structure. The vetting of firms organised in this manner was reportedly tightened to prevent asset outflows.
Momenta Global Limited, an entity the start-up used to apply for an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong, is incorporated in the Cayman Islands with limited liability, according to the prospectus released today.
Momenta received approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) last week and passed a hearing of Hong Kong’s stock exchange on Tuesday. The start-up was reported to have made a confidential application to the city’s bourse in late March.
A company that operates a business in mainland China and applies to go public with an offshore entity is known as a “red-chip”, a framework which has been used by firms in sectors where foreign investment is restricted to bypass domestic regulations and maintain flexibility over the past two decades.
Momenta’s approval comes amid concern from the financial sector over whether CSRC had tightened overseas listing rules, after some red-chip companies seeking regulatory approval for an IPO in Hong Kong were asked to change their structure, according to a memo seen by the South China Morning Post.
Instead, the red-chip firms were urged to issue Hong Kong-traded shares, also known as H shares, under a domestic entity, the memo showed.


The move appeared to target some red-chip companies that had established an offshore structure after March 2023, aiming to prevent them from disposing of their assets on offshore markets after listing, according to a source in the banking sector, who asked to remain anonymous due to sensitivity of the subject matter.
In 2023, CSRC brought firms incorporated offshore under its regulatory umbrella.
According to new guidelines which came into effect in March that year, Chinese companies with domestic assets or business activity must report their overseas IPO plans to the regulator no later than three working days after submitting an application to the offshore bourses.
While CSRC did not announce any bans on listing applications by red-chip companies, approvals decreased sharply.
Before Momenta, only one red-chip company received the go-ahead from the CSRC this year – the Hangzhou-based artificial intelligence start-up ManyCore, approved in February – compared with about 22 approvals in 2025, according to filings on the regulator’s website.
The rumoured tightening also partly resulted in more than 500 companies waiting to list on the Hong Kong stock exchange as of early May, according to another banker, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the subject.
Since the rise of China’s tech sector sparked market confidence in early 2025, Hong Kong’s IPO market has been reinvigorated, claiming the global crown for listing values last year. It was on track to hold that title for the first half of 2026, before the record SpaceX IPO sent the Nasdaq rocketing to the top spot.


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As Beijing appears to tighten rules on the listing of domestic firms incorporated offshore, self-driving tech start-up Momenta gains IPO approval


As Beijing appears to tighten rules on the listing of domestic firms incorporated offshore, self-driving tech start-up Momenta gains IPO approval.


Momenta granted regulatory approval to list in Hong Kong amid rumoured crackdown

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}As Beijing appears to tighten rules on the listing of domestic firms incorporated offshore, self-driving tech start-up Momenta gains IPO approval

As Beijing appears to tighten rules on the listing of domestic firms incorporated offshore, self-driving tech start-up Momenta gains IPO approval