China IPO Wave: Langao Tech Clears STAR Review as SoftBank Data Center Faces Confidence Crisis

The Quick Take

• Langao Tech's ChiNext IPO passed SZSE review, with revenue growing from RMB 385M to RMB 1.45B over three years.
• SoftBank-backed SB Energy (data centre) slowed its IPO timeline amid weak bond interest and valuation doubts at ~$50B.
• Wanli Tires updated its main board IPO prospectus, targeting a RMB 2B fundraise on the Shenzhen exchange.

China's A-share IPO market presents a bifurcated picture: operationally proven companies like Langao Tech and Wanli Tires are clearing regulatory hurdles and advancing toward listings, while capital-intensive pre-revenue infrastructure plays like SB Energy face growing investor scepticism. Langao Tech's trajectory — nearly fourfold revenue growth from RMB 385M in 2023 to RMB 1.45B in 2025, with H1 2026 revenue already at RMB 823M — represents the type of high-growth manufacturing technology story that ChiNext was designed to support. Wanli Tires' main board push targeting a RMB 2B raise reflects traditional industrial-sector access to China's primary capital markets.

SB Energy's situation is the more consequential story from a global capital markets perspective. The SoftBank-backed US data centre developer — co-invested by OpenAI and Nvidia — is pulling back on its IPO timeline after cool reception to its potential $5B bond issuance and market concern about its ~$50B valuation despite having zero operational data centres. This is an early signal that the AI infrastructure euphoria that drove data centre valuations to record multiples in 2025 may be facing a reality check from institutional credit investors who require cash flow, not just announced partnerships.

Key forward signals include SB Energy's revised IPO timeline and whether it can demonstrate committed revenue contracts to support its valuation. The macro variable is Chinese monetary policy and the CSRC's IPO approval pace: Beijing has historically used IPO approval velocity as a lever for controlling market sentiment and liquidity. Watching the CSRC's announcement pipeline for ChiNext and STAR Market approvals will indicate whether the regulator is in a supportive phase for new listings or managing market overheating concerns.

Synthesized from 4 sources.