Chinese semiconductor designer Montage Technology is set to price its Hong Kong listing at the top end of a range, according to two people with knowledge of the matter, raising as much as HK$7.04 billion.

The Shanghai-listed firm has offered 65.9 million H shares at a maximum offer price of HK$106.89 apiece, valuing the company at about HK$180.36 billion.

Montage did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Bloomberg reported on the pricing news earlier on Tuesday.

The offer price is expected to be determined by February 5 and announced by February 6, with shares set to debut on February 9, according to the company's prospectus.

The offering's proceeds will go mainly toward research and development, as well as commercialisation, strategic investments and/or acquisitions and working capital, the prospectus said.

The offering has 17 cornerstone investors committing US$450 million, including JPMorgan Asset Management Holdings, UBS Asset Management and Yunfeng Capital.

Founded in 2004, Montage designs integrated circuits that help to speed data movement in servers and data centres. The sector has drawn heavy investment as China accelerates its efforts to secure domestic alternatives to high-end chips and manufacturing equipment from the US, where the government has imposed export restrictions.

CICC, Morgan Stanley and UBS are acting as joint sponsors of the offering.

REUTERS

Montage Technology set to price Hong Kong HK$7.04 billion listing at top of range