Why tech titans’ IPOs matter as much in China as in the US

Why tech titans’ IPOs matter as much in China as in the US Beijing will have to ask whether its capital markets and financial regulations can create and sustain companies of a similar scale This wave will redirect capital flows and alter valuations across the tech sector. As competition intensifies, investors worldwide will be forced to completely rethink where future returns will come from. For China, the rise of these companies will intensify an already fierce contest for global capital, putting further strain on foreign investment restrictions. SpaceX could raise US$75 billion when it starts trading on the Nasdaq stock market potentially this week, shattering the previous record set by Saudi Aramco, which pulled in US$29 billion after going public in 2019. The deal has drawn more orders than shares available – institutional investors have already placed orders for about US$10 billion or more in shares, new reports show. Up to 30 per cent of the offering is set aside for retail investors, reportedly the largest such allocation ever attempted. Bybit’s tokenised access to the IPO intensifies the frenzy. SpaceX is likely to rank among the most consequential public listings in financial history. The IPO would value the company at about US$1.75 trillion – roughly 50 times book value and around 94 times 2025 revenue – though analysts differ widely on its worth. Morningstar estimates it at US$780 billion, describing the company’s “moat” as “indeterminate”, echoing Warren Buffett’s metaphor. Only Alibaba and Meta have been valued at US$100 billion after their first day trading on US exchanges. “The SpaceX IPO alone could generate more exit value than all IPOs in the last decade,” Morningstar said. Yet, at its launch, it is still smaller than Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon.