Shenzhen Stock Exchange: Adjustment to Include 鸣鸣很忙, 智谱, and 6 Other Stocks in Hong Kong Stock Connect Targets
The speed at which the capital market lists AI companies is racing against the pace at which these companies update their own presentations. Shenzhen Stock Exchange recently added six companies, including Zhipu AI, to the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect list. The signal conveyed by this action itself is more thought-provoking than the names on the list.
Analysis
The speed at which the capital market lists AI companies is racing against the pace at which these companies update their own presentations. Shenzhen Stock Exchange recently added six companies, including Zhipu AI, to the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect list. The action itself sends a signal more intriguing than the names on the list.
The list is interesting: "Mingming Henmao" (a discount snack chain), Jingfeng Medical (surgical robots), Haizhi Technology, Biren and Tianshu Zhixin (two GPU/chip companies), and Zhipu AI. This is almost a microcosm of the hot sectors in the primary market over the past two years: new consumer, hard technology, and large models. Now, they collectively have a "fast track" entry pass to attract southbound funds. On the surface, this seems like mainland capital placing a vote of confidence in AI and related industrial chains through the Hong Kong stock market channel. But at its core, it looks more like a carefully designed "liquidity outlet." When valuations in the primary market are high and exit paths are congested, what does it mean to connect with the Hong Kong Stock Connect? It means that mainland institutions and high-net-worth investors can more conveniently "take over" from early investors in these companies. Is this value discovery or risk transfer? The liquidity pool in Hong Kong is only so large—will real money buy into an AI story that is already controversial for listing on the A-share market?
A more ironic contrast comes from the other side of the market. At the same time, the combined margin financing balance in both markets decreased by over 14 billion in a single day. Leverage funds are retreating, and market sentiment is contracting. On one side, funds are opening up to the most cutting-edge and "sexy" AI concepts; on the other, the market's main funds are voting with their feet, showing exceptional caution. This sense of disconnection precisely depicts the real situation of the AI industry today: the narrative is hot, valuations are soaring, but the actual implementation and profit models are as unclear as flowers in the fog. The decline in margin financing indicates that investors are paying the price for uncertainty.
This uncertainty is brilliantly echoed in the hot topics on 36Kr. On one hand, "After using AI, the company seems even poorer"—this directly hits the pain points of many companies. Large budgets are thrown at AI solutions in hopes of reducing costs and increasing efficiency, only to find that they’ve merely added a bunch of "expensive tools" that require tuning, dedicated maintenance, and produce unstable outputs. AI has become a new cost center rather than a profit engine. On the other hand, "AI giants with trillion-dollar market caps ban the use of AI during interviews." This is arguably the year's most satirical industry joke. Companies that create disruptive technology don’t dare trust their own tech in the core process of talent selection. This reveals a collective anxiety about AI's reliability and depth. Are we truly entering the AI era, or have we entered an "AI marketing" era?
Thus, from the very beginning, Zhipu AI and its peers’ journey into the Hong Kong Stock Connect is shrouded in complex shadows. Their selection may not be because their business models are rock-solid, but because they represent a direction that "must succeed." Capital needs an outlet, stories need to continue, and policies need to show posture. This resembles a carefully choreographed relay race—each leg must be run beautifully, regardless of whether the finish line is lined with roses or thorns. That doesn’t seem to be the primary concern right now.
For ordinary investors, the sound of this gong may not be a call to charge, but a warning bell. Southbound funds have indeed gained new targets, but the value of these targets is far from something that can be simply summarized by the "AI" prefix. When the overall market chooses to contract and reduce leverage, the concentrated focus on a few star stocks may instead amplify volatility and risk. After all, AI's valuation logic has always been more akin to a dream than to financial statements.
Ultimately, the changes in the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect list and the shrinkage in margin financing are two sides of the same coin, together sketching the core contradiction of China's technology investment in mid-2024: We harbor infinite hopes for a technological revolution, yet we must struggle to price our dreams in a real world of tightening liquidity and uncertain prospects.
Disclaimer: The above content is generated by AI and is for reference only.