AI model developer Minimax (0100) emerged as the most popular stock for mainland investors last month following its August 6 inclusion in the Stock Connect, surpassing tech giants in Southbound capital inflows, according to Bloomberg.
Mainland funds poured 10.6 billion yuan (HK$11.66 billion) into the model company in August, outpacing HK$5.91 billion for Alibaba (9988), HK$5.8 billion for Tencent (0700) and HK$3.46 billion for Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable (6869), Bloomberg data showed.
MiniMax only became eligible for southbound trading on August 6, but Southbound investors held 9.74 percent of the company as of September 1, according to data from the Central Clearing and Settlement System.
Meanwhile, Baidu (9888) officially converted its status from a secondary to a primary listing in Hong Kong on September 1, following a similar move by NetEase (9999).
Henry He Haijian, chief financial officer of Baidu, told Bloomberg in a recent interview that the company could see fresh capital inflows soon, with the impact potentially emerging as early as next week.
Based on estimates from brokerages and analysts, He pointed out that Baidu could see capital inflows of 10 to 15 percent into the stock following its anticipated inclusion in the Stock Connect.
The completion of the dual primary listing serves as a perfect opportunity to broaden the client and investor base while signaling Baidu's entry into a second growth curve, he told Bloomberg.
Baidu's earlier investments in artificial intelligence, spanning cloud services, applications, chips and AI agents, have now become important sources of revenue, he added.
