According to a term sheet seen by Reuters, the Chinese artificial intelligence startup SenseTime Group is looking to raise up to $767 million in its initial public offering IPO in Hong Kong.
The deal launched on Monday for the company to sell 1.5 billion primary shares in a price range of HK $3.85 to HK $3.99 each, the term sheet said.
Eight cornerstone investors have signed up for the IPO and subscribed for $450 million, or 58.6% of the deal, ahead of its launch, according to the term sheet.
The shares of SenseTime are due to be price on Friday and will start trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on December 17.
The term sheet said that the company plans to use the majority of the IPO funds for research and development of its main AI technologies.
SenseTime was one of eight Chinese tech companies placed on the U.S. blacklist in 2019 due to trade tensions between Beijing and Washington.
The firms are not allowed to buy components from U.S. companies without U.S. government approval.
The United States alleges that the companies on the blacklist played a role in human rights abuses against Muslim minority groups in China.
SenseTime said it strongly opposed the U.S. trade restrictions and would work with relevant authorities to resolve the situation.
The IPO is going ahead despite the blacklist that has prohibited U.S investment banks from working on the deal.
There is no major US bank working on the IPO, with HSBC Holdings PLC HSBA.L being the only major Western bank with a role as a joint sponsor.