Shares of top Chinese optical-module makers recovered early losses after analysts downplayed potential US restrictions aimed at barring new Chinese optical transceivers from American AI data centres.
Zhongji buys back shares to stabilize prices before Hong Kong IPO, amid risk of onshore stock decline impacting offshore listing success.
Zhongji Innolight's shares surged after receiving approval for a major Hong Kong listing worth up to $8 billion, potentially the city's largest this year, as the Chinese optical transceivers firm gauges investor interest.
Zhongji Innolight, a Shandong-based AI innovation leader, tops the CSI 300 Index with a 5% weighting, driven by soaring demand for its high-speed optical modules used in AI data centers, supplied to global hyperscalers like Alphabet, Amazon, and Huawei.
Three Chinese optical module manufacturers have seen their stock prices surge 5-10x in the past year, with combined market capitalisation now exceeding baijiu giant Kweichow Moutai. Zhongji Innolight, the world's largest optical module producer, saw shares jump tenfold, while peers Eoptolink and TFC Optical gained more than five times. The firms, which produce components for high-speed data transmission in AI infrastructure, became the second and third most popular stocks among actively managed equity funds in Q1 2026.
