Zhou Dylan/Wen

In the past 60 trading days, the market value of "China's largest base model stock" Zhipu (02513. HK) has evaporated by HKD 1 trillion!

Even in this context, Zhipu is still pushing forward its aggressive financing pace. On the evening of September 13th, Zhipu released an announcement announcing a new round of financing plan: according to the general authorization to issue new H shares, it plans to issue up to 21.965 million shares at a price of HKD 714 per share, raising a net amount of approximately HKD 15.7 billion; According to the general authorization, a zero coupon convertible bond with a principal of RMB 20.14 billion (approximately USD 3 billion) settled in US dollars will be issued simultaneously, raising a net amount of approximately HKD 23.6 billion; The relevant fundraising mainly focuses on the next-generation General Language Model (GLM) base, fully self training system, and computing infrastructure.

So far, Zhipu has only been listed on the Hong Kong stock market for over 8 months and has already advanced three rounds of financing: an IPO in January with an issue price of HKD 116.2 per share and a net fundraising amount of approximately HKD 4.9 billion; In July, the "lightning placement" was carried out at a price of HKD 1588 per share, with a net fundraising amount of approximately HKD 31.4 billion; In September, the "Flash Placement+Convertible Bonds" raised a net amount of approximately HKD 39.3 billion. The total amount of three rounds of financing reached approximately HKD 75.6 billion.

On September 14th, the stock price of Zhipu plummeted by 9.08%; On September 15th, Zhipu's stock price continued to plummet by 5.69%, closing at HKD 680 with a total market value of HKD 316.6 billion. As a comparison, on June 22 over two months ago, the stock price of Zhipu soared by HKD 2980, with a total market value of HKD 1.3 trillion at one point.

In the process of rapid market value evaporation, Zhipu is still intensively promoting huge financing. This situation is extremely rare even in the history of global securities. So, what can we see from it?

Firstly, the anxiety of the Zhipu board of directors. Currently, the competition for global base models is becoming increasingly fierce, with performance breakthroughs advancing rapidly. The industry landscape may take shape and solidify in the next two to three years. The window period passed in a flash, so the board of directors of Zhipu no longer cared about the stock price. Only by "hoarding enough food and forage" can they relieve their worries, make a strong push, and sprint to the forefront of the global base model.

Secondly, the capital side is still pursuing. From the current situation, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Zhipu's latest financing plan will also be successfully implemented. According to publicly available information, nearly 70% of cornerstone investors who were lifted from high levels in early July have clearly stated that they will hold on for the long term. In addition, during the "lightning placement" in July, the placement price was as high as HKD 1588 per share, but it was also oversubscribed. All of these indicate that institutions have confidence in the long-term growth potential of Zhipu.

Thirdly, financing methods are more aggressive. In the latest financing plan, a "zero coupon convertible bond settled in US dollars" is included, with a net fundraising amount of approximately HKD 23.6 billion. This is a quite aggressive financing method, where a zero interest convertible bond, especially one settled in high interest currency US dollars, is introduced to the market as a financing tool. Investors are certainly not interested in interest, but in its embedded "stock price call option". Or in other words, the smooth implementation of this financing plan itself represents the strong expectation of relevant investors for a significant increase in the future stock price of Zhipu.

Fourthly, the complexity of discovering the value of the capital market. In just over a year, the market value of Zhipu has fluctuated greatly: in May 2025, the valuation of Zhipu's last round of private equity financing before going public was about HKD 26.5 billion; In January 2026, Zhipu's IPO market value was approximately HKD 51 billion; In June 2026, the market value of Zhipu exceeded HKD 1.3 trillion; On September 15, 2026, the closing market value of Zhipu was HKD 316.6 billion. So, how does the capital market conduct value discovery? Is this value discovery reliable? What is the relationship between market value and company fundamentals? These questions are worth considering for all market participants.

Fifth, how to protect the interests of minority shareholders. In terms of system, Zhipu, as a Hong Kong stock "18C company", can continue to raise funds even if it does not achieve profitability, and the board of directors holds a general authorization (a "blank check" power granted to the board of directors in advance by the shareholders' meeting). The refinancing arrangements under the general authorization do not require separate approval from the shareholders' meeting, and small and medium-sized shareholders cannot temporarily prevent it. From the perspective of Zhipu's "aggressive financing", this mechanism design fully reflects market efficiency, but it seems that small and medium-sized shareholders can only "vote with their feet" in the process of stock price decline. Is this fair?

In summary, despite the unique and reasonable nature of Zhipu's "aggressive financing" based on the current competitive stage of the global big model industry, it is still quite abnormal for a company with a revenue of 954 million yuan and a loss of about 2 billion yuan in the first half of the year to raise a total of 75.6 billion Hong Kong dollars so far this year, which is close to a quarter of its current total market value.

Of course, on the other hand, investors' trust cannot be overdrawn indefinitely.

(The author is a financial commentator and the author of "Being Your Own Fund Manager: Investment Advice for Billions of Stock Investors")

(Author Zhou Dylan)