A new Hong Kong IPO application from car and motorcycle maker Chongqing Afari Technology Co. Ltd. (601777.SH) is quite mysterious, built largely on the dream of one day becoming an AI technology giant. There’s just one problem with the company’s vision, namely, the fact that it has yet to generate any revenue from an AI business that it wants investors to believe is its most promising asset.
Afari’s new listing application, first published by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Oct. 16 and updated last Friday, is chock full of references to AI, which has, admittedly, become a buzzword among just about any publicly listed company these days. But Afari takes the AI hype to a new level, mentioning it nearly 200 times in its listing document, including 49 references in discussion of its “AI + Mobility” business.
The company’s revenue currently comes mostly from sales of cars and motorcycles, both traditional internal combustion and new energy vehicle (NEV) models, under the Livan and Maple brands. But those businesses are still relatively small, showing the company is having difficulty gaining traction in China’s crowded car market.