Chinese companies like Moonshot AI are weighing corporate restructuring after the Meta Manus trading reversal

AIMPACT News, May 6 (UTC+8), after the China Securities Regulatory Commission issued inquiries to multiple companies regarding overseas shareholding structures, Chinese tech startups such as Moonshot AI and DeepRoute.ai are evaluating the feasibility of relocating their company registration locations from overseas back to China. Currently, they are all discussing relevant plans with lawyers and have not made final decisions. Shanghai AI model developer StepFun has taken the lead in initiating the dismantling of overseas shareholding structures to accelerate the regulatory approval process for a Hong Kong IPO.
The direct trigger for the tightening of regulations was Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of Manus, an AI agency founded by Chinese entrepreneurs—relevant authorities have ordered the cancellation of this acquisition, which has triggered a systematic review by regulators of the “domestic operation, overseas registration” company model.
Dismantling red-chip structures is a complex process, usually taking six months to a year, involving steps such as repurchasing offshore equity, establishing joint ventures, and re-investing by investors. Additionally, the lock-up period for joint ventures listed in Hong Kong is as long as 12 months, twice as long as for ordinary red-chip stocks.
Analysts point out that if red-chip structures are fully restricted, it will significantly weaken Chinese startups’ ability to raise US dollar funding from overseas. (Source: ChainCatcher)