Manus Acquisition Plan Halted, Multiple Chinese AI Companies Evaluate Dismantling Red-Chip Structures to Advance Hong Kong IPO

Odaily Planet Daily News: Following the halt of the acquisition plan for AI agent company Manus, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has tightened its review of red-chip structure enterprises seeking Hong Kong IPOs. Several AI companies planning to go public have begun evaluating the dismantling of their overseas structures and a return to domestic entities. Moonshot AI is currently in communication with lawyers regarding structural reorganization, but has not yet made a final decision. Stepfun has already initiated the process of dismantling its overseas holding structure, believing that transitioning to a domestic entity will help shorten the approval cycle. DeepRoute.ai is also conducting a similar evaluation. Industry insiders point out that dismantling a red-chip structure typically takes 6 to 12 months, involving processes such as equity buybacks, establishing joint venture entities, and tax handling. Currently, regulators have not issued a comprehensive ban, but have been inquiring about the overseas holding situations of relevant companies. (The Information)