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The robot has begun operating at Kalangan, the art museum inside the Domestic Security Hold Area, marking the first phase of a wider plan to introduce robotic assistance across the airport. CIAL Managing Director S. Suhas inaugurated the service, which is intended to give passengers access to travel information while they move through the terminal.

Passengers can interact with the robot to check flight schedules, gate numbers and CIAL services. It can provide directions to boarding gates and other airport facilities, helping travellers locate destinations without having to rely solely on static signs or information counters.

CIAL has also given the robot a cultural role. At Kalangan, it can explain Kerala art forms including Kathakali and Ottanthullal and provide information about sculptures and artworks displayed in the museum. The robot can guide passengers towards relevant exhibits, linking travel assistance with the airport’s cultural displays.

The airport operator said passenger assistance robots will be deployed in check-in halls during the next phase of the programme. CIAL is also examining the use of delivery robots capable of carrying food and other products directly to passengers waiting inside the terminal, though no timetable has been announced for that service.

Pune-based Kinetics Robotics developed the passenger assistance robot for CIAL. Executive Director Santhosh Poovattil, Head of Commercial Manoj P. Joseph and Kinetics Robotics representative Jignesh Nair were among those present when the service was launched.

The project adds another automated passenger-facing service to CIAL’s broader digital upgrade. The airport last year outlined a Rs 200-crore digital transformation programme, CIAL 2.0, covering operational systems, artificial intelligence, automation and cybersecurity. That programme included upgraded flight information and announcement systems, common-use passenger processing infrastructure and other technology intended to improve airport operations and passenger convenience.

CIAL 2.0 also identified facial-recognition check-in, artificial intelligence-based baggage tracking, lost-item tracking, prepaid cab booking kiosks and DigiYatra integration among its digital services. The passenger assistance robot extends that technology drive into a visible, interactive role inside the terminal rather than keeping automation largely behind the scenes.

For passengers, the robot’s main practical value is immediate access to frequently requested information. Flight updates and gate directions can change during the course of a journey, and an interactive unit positioned within the secure area can supplement display boards and staffed help points. Its deployment at Kalangan also allows CIAL to test passenger interaction with the technology in a controlled setting before placing more robots in busier check-in areas.

The cultural information function gives the device a second purpose beyond navigation. Travellers passing through the museum can request explanations of traditional performances and displayed works rather than using the robot only for airport queries. CIAL has presented that combination as part of its effort to improve passenger convenience while drawing attention to Kerala’s cultural heritage.

The first deployment remains limited to the domestic security hold area, and CIAL has not disclosed how many passenger assistance robots will be added in the next stage. The airport operator has also not announced technical details such as supported languages, operating hours, mobility range or whether future units will have additional functions.

Kalangan serves as the initial location because it combines passenger circulation with exhibits that require both directional and informational support. The robot can therefore handle airport questions while directing visitors towards artworks and explaining selected cultural forms.

CIAL’s move comes as airports increasingly use self-service and automated systems for routine passenger interactions, particularly for check-in, baggage processing, navigation and information delivery. At Kochi, the next expansion will move the assistance robots from the museum setting into check-in halls, where passenger volumes and the range of queries are likely to be greater.

The two leaders met on Saturday on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi and welcomed what the Prime Minister’s Office described as steady progress in ties since their meeting in Tianjin in August 2025. They agreed that relations should be approached from a strategic and long-term perspective and that differences should not be allowed to become disputes.

Modi said peace and tranquillity in border areas remained an essential basis for further development of the relationship. He called for both sides to observe existing agreements and understandings on frontier issues and said engagement should be guided by “mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest”.

Both leaders committed themselves to seeking a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement of the boundary question, while expanding cooperation in areas where their interests converge. They also backed stronger cultural exchanges, business links and mobility, alongside efforts to resolve economic frictions.

Trade featured prominently in the discussions. The two sides agreed on the need to address concerns over the structural trade imbalance, supply-chain issues and access to each other’s markets. Bilateral trade reached a record $155.6 billion in 2025, while India’s imports from China were about $132 billion, leaving a large deficit that New Delhi has repeatedly sought to narrow.

The meeting marked Xi’s first trip to India since 2019, when he travelled to Tamil Nadu for an informal summit with Modi. Relations deteriorated sharply after the 2020 military confrontation in eastern Ladakh, including the Galwan Valley clash that killed 20 soldiers from India and four from China.

A disengagement agreement reached in October 2024 helped end key points of the military standoff and opened the way for higher-level political contacts. Modi and Xi then held a substantive bilateral meeting during the BRICS summit in Kazan that month, followed by another meeting in Tianjin in August 2025.

Diplomatic and military mechanisms have since been revived. At the 25th round of Special Representatives’ talks in Beijing on August 25, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and China’s Wang Yi agreed on eight measures covering border management, military communication, boundary negotiations, trade routes, pilgrimage arrangements and cooperation on trans-border rivers.

Among those steps were two additional channels for military hotlines in the eastern and middle sectors and two additional meeting points for senior commanders. The two sides also agreed to continue work towards a framework for settling the boundary dispute and to use existing diplomatic and military channels to deal promptly with incidents along the Line of Actual Control.

Practical links have also begun returning. Direct passenger flights have resumed, business visa processing has improved and the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage has restarted, while three traditional border trading points have reopened. Those measures have not removed the deeper trust deficit, but they have restored channels that were largely frozen after 2020. Officials on both sides have indicated that further easing will depend on predictable border management and progress on commercial concerns over the coming months.

Despite the thaw, major differences remain. Large troop deployments continue along sections of the Himalayan frontier, and the boundary itself has not been settled. Economic engagement is also constrained by investment screening, regulatory barriers, visa delays and security concerns affecting sectors considered sensitive by either government.

Xi’s visit nevertheless gave both governments an opportunity to demonstrate that political contacts are becoming more regular after years of strained relations. Beijing has repeatedly said the two countries should view each other as partners rather than rivals, while New Delhi has maintained that normal relations require durable peace at the border.

The decision was conveyed in a letter dated September 11 after the central bank considered Tata Sons’ March 28, 2024 application and subsequent correspondence, people familiar with the matter said. The RBI advised the company to take the steps needed to comply fully with requirements applying to upper-layer NBFCs.

Tata Sons had sought to give up its Certificate of Registration after reducing debt and arguing that it could operate as an unregistered core investment company. Approval would have removed the principal regulatory basis for a compulsory market listing and allowed the company to remain privately held.

The rejection closes that route. RBI rules require an NBFC classified in the upper layer to list within three years of identification and subject it to tighter standards covering capital, governance, disclosures and risk management. Tata Sons was first placed in the upper layer in September 2022, making its original listing deadline September 2025.

The company remained unlisted while its deregistration request was under examination. When the RBI published its upper-layer list for 2024-25 in January 2025, it retained Tata Sons as a core investment company but said the inclusion was without prejudice to the outcome of the pending application.

The central bank subsequently revised its scale-based framework. Under the current approach, very large NBFCs face enhanced supervision, with an asset threshold of ₹1 trillion among the key criteria. Tata Sons’ standalone assets were about ₹1.75 trillion at the end of March 2025, placing it comfortably above that level. More recent accounts cited in corporate filings and regulatory discussions put the asset base above ₹2 trillion.

The company had repaid more than ₹200 billion of borrowings before seeking deregistration, a step intended to eliminate reliance on public funds, but the regulatory framework also considers circumstances in which access to funding may arise through group entities.

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said in August that entities meeting the applicable criteria continued to fall within their respective regulatory layers. At that stage, Tata Sons’ application to surrender its core investment company registration had not been decided.

The latest communication therefore resolves the central regulatory question that had kept the company’s listing status uncertain. It does not, by itself, set out the structure, timing or size of any share sale, and Tata Sons has not publicly announced an IPO plan following the RBI decision.

A listing would have significant consequences for the ownership of Tata Sons, which sits at the centre of a group spanning technology, automobiles, steel, consumer businesses, airlines and financial services. Tata Trusts collectively hold roughly two-thirds of the company, giving the philanthropic trusts decisive influence over the holding company.

The Shapoorji Pallonji Group is the largest minority shareholder, with an interest of about 18 per cent. A market listing has long been important to the shareholder because it could create a transparent route for monetising part of that holding, while sections of Tata’s controlling shareholder base have favoured keeping Tata Sons private.

The regulatory decision arrives as Tata Sons is also dealing with leadership uncertainty. Chairman N Chandrasekaran has said he will not seek another term when his current tenure ends in February 2027, adding another major governance issue for the board and shareholders to address.

Tata Sons controls or holds substantial stakes in several listed companies, including Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors and Tata Steel, while also overseeing unlisted businesses. Its position as the group’s principal holding company means any listing would require extensive work on disclosures, capital structure, shareholder arrangements and regulatory compliance.

At the ceremony, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man congratulated Labor Hero Nguyen Thi Nga, BRG Group and SeABank, expressing his hope that they would continue advancing their vision, determination and pioneering spirit in developing and contributing to Vietnam’s economic growth.

In response, Labor Hero Nguyen Thi Nga affirmed: “We will transform these prestigious honors into concrete actions to expand international relations, promote sustainable development and create greater practical value for our country.”

BRG Group is Vietnam’s leading private multi-sector economic and services group, founded by entrepreneur Nguyen Thi Nga. The Group provides high-quality products across key sectors, including real estate, golf, hospitality and tourism, retail, banking and finance, manufacturing and trading, and services, currently employing more than 22,000 people nationwide.

BRG Group partners with Hilton, Marriott International, IHG, Accor and Sumitomo Corporation to bring international governance and service standards to Vietnam. The Group also pioneers in the golf industry with 10 international-standard golf courses, collaborating with world-leading names such as Greg Norman and Jack Nicklaus. BRG Group is also dedicated to preserving and promoting Chu Dau Ceramics, a nearly 600-year Vietnamese ceramic tradition with artifacts displayed at 46 museums across 32 countries.

SeABank is one of the earliest-established JSC banks in Vietnam. For many consecutive years, SeABank has been ranked among the best banks by the State Bank of Vietnam and among the Top 10 most reputable private JSC banks in Vietnam. SeABank currently serves more than 4.2 million customers and holds Ba3 credit ratings with a Positive outlook from Moody’s. To promote green finance and financial inclusion while supporting SMEs and women-owned businesses, SeABank has mobilized nearly US$1.1 billion in funding from international financial institutions, including IFC, DFC, AIIB, ADB and others.

Hashtag: #SeABank

https://seabank.com.vn/

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By R Suryamurthy The latest BRICS financial agenda is ambitious enough to suggest that the grouping is no longer content merely to complain about the inequities of the global economic order; it wants to build pieces of an alternative. But ambition, particularly in a grouping as diverse as BRICS, is cheap. The harder question is […]

The article Brics has a financial roadmap: The hard part is making it work appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).

The Board of Investment approved the measures at a meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas, expanding the Thailand FastPass mechanism and launching a BOI-to-IPO programme with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

The 17 projects, submitted by 15 companies, are expected to create more than 14,000 jobs. Electronics and electrical manufacturers account for 10 projects worth 83.92 billion baht, close to 70 per cent of the latest batch, according to the BOI.

Two processed-food projects represent investment of 24.34 billion baht, two pet nutrition projects total 8.80 billion baht, and three precision machinery and automotive component projects amount to 4.36 billion baht.

The additions take the FastPass portfolio to 42 strategic projects across three rounds, with planned investment exceeding 344 billion baht and projected employment of more than 27,000 people. The scheme uses service-level agreements across state agencies to shorten licensing timelines, address approval bottlenecks and move projects more quickly from investment applications to construction and operation.

The first two FastPass rounds covered 25 projects from 23 companies worth more than 223 billion baht and were expected to generate over 13,000 jobs. All 25 have received investment-promotion approval, 19 have been issued investment certificates and 11 have completed all required permits within the prescribed service-level deadlines. Actual investment by projects in the programme has exceeded 21 billion baht.

Alongside the approval drive, the BOI said it was shifting the way it evaluates investment promotion, placing greater weight on realised investment, domestic value added, links with small and medium-sized suppliers, high-skilled employment, research and development, technology transfer and capital-market participation.

The policy overhaul also narrows support for activities that contribute limited local value, with the BOI saying incentives will increasingly favour advanced manufacturing, technology transfer and deeper integration of domestic vendors. New operational indicators will measure how many approved projects become investments and how quickly agencies process approvals.

Narit said the policy seeks to lift investment to 30 per cent of gross domestic product, support annual economic growth above 3 per cent and improve Thailand’s competitiveness ranking. Those objectives are government targets rather than assured outcomes and will depend on investment execution, productivity gains and economic conditions.

BOI secretary-general Narit Therdsteerasukdi said the agency was moving towards measuring the quality and domestic value generated by investment rather than focusing mainly on application volumes. He said the government wanted targeted measures in strategic sectors to support higher investment and productivity.

The BOI-to-IPO programme is designed to help promoted companies, particularly businesses in sectors classified as part of the New Economy, raise capital through Thailand’s exchanges and expand their operations. The SEC has shortened its IPO approval process, while the stock exchange is easing certain market-capitalisation and operating-track-record requirements for qualifying New Economy companies.

A special listing pathway is also being provided for companies promoted by the BOI or the Eastern Economic Corridor, linking investment incentives with access to equity financing.

Promoted companies that list on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, the Market for Alternative Investment or the LiVEx board can qualify for additional tax relief. SET-certified New Economy companies may receive up to three additional years of corporate income-tax exemption, or a 50 per cent reduction for five years.

Other promoted companies that list can receive up to two additional tax-free years, or a 50 per cent reduction in corporate income tax for three years, subject to the programme’s conditions.

Narit said the policy was intended to allow companies that had established successful operations in Thailand to finance new plants and production lines, invest in research and technology, and expand overseas while retaining Thailand as a business base.

The talks, held on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, focused on bilateral relations and the regional security situation. India’s Prime Minister reiterated that disputes should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy and called for sustained efforts to secure lasting peace and stability, according to an official statement issued after the meeting.

Modi specifically highlighted the need to safeguard freedom of navigation and commerce and the safety and well-being of seafarers. The issue has become a central concern for New Delhi as attacks on commercial vessels and disruption to maritime routes in the region have affected trade and put crews at risk.

The meeting was Modi and Pezeshkian’s second in less than two weeks. They had met on August 31 on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, where Modi also raised the protection of commercial shipping and seafarers and urged a diplomatic approach to the West Asia conflict.

Friday’s discussion came as the conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel continued to place pressure on strategic waterways and supply routes. India has sought to maintain working relations with Iran while also preserving close ties with Israel and Arab states, making maritime security and regional stability important economic as well as diplomatic priorities.

At least 10 nationals of India have been killed in attacks on vessels transiting the region during the conflict. New Delhi has condemned attacks affecting Gulf countries, energy infrastructure and commercial shipping, while repeatedly calling for de-escalation and protection of civilians and maritime workers.

The maritime threat has sharpened concerns over energy shipments through Gulf waters that remain critical to India’s oil and gas imports.

Modi reinforced the same message earlier on Friday at the BRICS Business Forum, saying global trade could advance only when sea lanes were secure, supply routes remained open and seafarers were safe. He described India as a firm supporter of freedom of navigation and the safety of maritime crews.

Pezeshkian, who was making his first visit to India as president, used his participation in BRICS meetings to press for stronger economic cooperation among members and protection of legitimate trade from political and military pressure. He argued that the grouping’s strength would be demonstrated by converting economic capacity into functioning networks for trade, investment and joint financing.

The Iranian president also called for greater use of national currencies in trade among BRICS members and said Tehran was prepared to work as a strategic partner in energy and transport supply chains. His remarks reflected Iran’s effort to reduce exposure to sanctions and other constraints on cross-border commerce.

During the bilateral meeting, Modi thanked Iran for maintaining high-level participation in BRICS-related meetings despite difficult circumstances. He said the grouping could strengthen resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability among countries of the Global South.

The two leaders also reviewed broader bilateral ties and cooperation in multilateral organisations. Modi welcomed continuing coordination on issues of mutual interest within BRICS, where Iran is a full member alongside Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and other states that have joined the expanded grouping.

The talks followed Pezeshkian’s participation in the Leaders’ Session of the BRICS Business Forum. Modi thanked him for attending and said engagement between the two countries should continue across bilateral and multilateral channels.

The New Delhi meeting also built on the August 31 discussions in Bishkek, when Pezeshkian told Modi that Tehran favoured a negotiated solution to its confrontation with the United States. Modi at that meeting expressed concern over escalating tensions and said civilians, civilian infrastructure, commercial shipping and seafarers should not be harmed.

Two decades after its first projects broke ground on reclaimed industrial land and riverbank outside Hanoi, Vinhomes, anchored in the wider Vingroup ecosystem and its “ESG++” environmental standards, is positioning itself to help define what a good city looks like for the decades ahead.

Building Cities as Integrated Ecosystems, Not Just Developments

The first Vinhomes projects rose on difficult ground, but their premise was unusual for its time: that a residential development had to fold an entire urban life into a single, walkable proposition. Royal City and Times City were carved from former industrial land in Hanoi, while Vinhomes Riverside took shape on the far side of a river that once marked the edge of the city’s imagination. What set these projects apart was not their scale but their structural approach, schools, clinics, parks, transit, and commerce built in as foundations, not added on later.

That premise has held up. Vietnam’s cities have since become one of the region’s most closely watched growth stories. In 2025, the country drew more than $38 billion in registered foreign direct investment, with real estate the second-largest recipient sector after manufacturing. The capital is following the population, and the population is following the belief that Asian cities will decide what urban life looks like next. Research from the McKinsey Global Institute finds that roughly half of the world’s 600 largest cities by GDP are now in Asia, and that in most Asian countries, cities already generate more than 80 percent of national output.

Vinhomes’ answer to the challenge of urban sequencing has been structural rather than cosmetic, folding its projects into the wider Vingroup ecosystem. A housing development arrives already wired into education (Vinschool, VinUni), healthcare (Vinmec), retail (Vincom Retail), hospitality (Vinpearl, VinWonders), and green mobility (VinFast, V-Green, Green SM), with renewable energy and regional infrastructure now extending that network through VinEnergo and VinSpeed. The premise is that a city assembled this way behaves less like a real-estate product and more like an economy in miniature, one that generates its own demand for jobs, services, and further investment as residents move in.

From ESG++ Leadership to Global Expansion

The newer test for urban development is what a project is willing to leave alone. Vinhomes has framed its approach as “ESG++”, not merely limiting environmental damage, but actively restoring the ecosystems a project sits within. At Can Gio, Vinhomes Green Paradise is being built alongside one of Vietnam’s most significant mangrove systems, with construction is deliberately constrained to protect it. In Ha Long, Vinhomes Global Gate sits beside a UNESCO World Heritage Bay, built with the explicit aim of complementing rather than competing with the landscape.

This approach has drawn notice beyond Vietnam. Vinhomes Green Paradise became the first official global participant in New7Wonders’ “7 Wonders of Future Cities” initiative. Jean-Paul de la Fuente, the campaign’s director, described visiting the project as an encounter with a place where nature, people, and technology converge in ways he had not anticipated from the paperwork alone, adding that few developers anywhere have the execution capacity to build at this scale and speed while still managing that complexity.

The company’s ambitions now extend well beyond its home market. Vinhomes has projects and development plans in Congo, India, Australia, the Philippines, and Indonesia, less an export of a real-estate model than an attempt to carry two decades of Vietnamese urban experience into markets asking the same questions Vietnam once asked itself. For most of the modern era, Vietnamese cities absorbed standards and formats tested elsewhere; that posture is shifting, and not only inside Vietnam.

The data points to a single conclusion: the next several decades of urban growth will be decided in Asia, whether or not Asian developers are ready to define its terms. The United Nations’ World Urbanization Prospects 2025 puts the scale of that growth beyond dispute, cities are now home to 45 percent of the planet’s 8.2 billion people, more than double the share in 1950, with two-thirds of all future population growth through mid-century expected to land in urban areas. The number of megacities has quadrupled since 1975, from eight to 33, and more than half of them sit in Asia. Capital is already voting with its feet, and McKinsey’s research suggests the economic weight has shifted, even if global recognition has not yet caught up.

What Vinhomes is proposing, in effect, is that the second half of that shift, reputation, precedent, the standing to say what a good city looks like, is still being written. Twenty years on from a stretch of marshland and disused factory yards outside Hanoi, the argument is no longer really about towers. It is about whether a place built quickly can still be built to last, for the people living in it and for the land it stands on.

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About Vinhomes

Vinhomes is Vietnam’s largest residential real estate and integrated township developer. The company pioneers the development of synchronized, modern large-scale townships, delivering premium living standards and unlocking sustainable investment opportunities for domestic and international clients.

The emblem, “Jing Yue”, centred on the Temple of Heaven and the Chinese character “京” (Jing), draws on the expressive charm of Chinese calligraphy, engraves Beijing’s local identity, and radiates the vibrant energy of athletics.

The mascot, “Jing Yan”, draws inspiration from “Yan’er”, the mascot of the 2015 edition of the Championships. Modelled after the Beijing swift, it symbolises “the return of the swift after 12 years”. The design subtly incorporates traditional Chinese kite patterns and the expressive eye makeup of Peking Opera, while a lightning-bolt dynamic adds a sense of speed. This seamlessly blends natural vitality, culture, art, and athletic competition. It not only nods to the 2015 edition of the Championships, but also brings Beijing’s rich cultural heritage vividly to life.

The theme slogan “Every Step Counts” embodies the relentless competitive spirit that every step and every effort matters. It sends a warm yet resolute message to the world: on the road to excellence, every wholehearted effort holds extraordinary value.

In his video address, President of World Athletics Sebastian Coe noted that Beijing is the first city in the world to have successfully hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics, with a remarkable record of staging world-class events. He said the World Championships Beijing 2015 produced many iconic moments, and that World Athletics firmly believes China will stage the 2027 edition of the Championships to the highest possible standard and deliver an unforgettable sporting spectacular for audiences across the globe.

The World Athletics Championships Beijing 27 will be held at the National Stadium from 10 to 19 September 2027. More than 2,000 athletes from over 200 countries and regions will gather at the Bird’s Nest for this grand athletics celebration.
Hashtag: #WCHBeijing27 #EveryStepCounts

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Enflame’s shares closed 179 per cent above their initial public offering price on the STAR Market, lifting the company’s market value to about 171 billion yuan from 61.2 billion yuan at the offer price. The Tencent-backed company raised 6.12 billion yuan by selling 43.04 million new shares at 142.18 yuan each.

The surge came despite Enflame having never reported an annual profit since its establishment in 2018. Its 2025 revenue reached 990.2 million yuan while its net loss narrowed to about 1.2 billion yuan. The company has forecast revenue of 2.3 billion yuan to 3 billion yuan for the first nine months of 2026, alongside a net loss of 700 million yuan to 860 million yuan.

Revenue has expanded quickly from 301 million yuan in 2023 and about 722 million yuan in 2024, but losses have remained substantial as the company spends heavily on research and product development. Enflame recorded net losses of about 1.67 billion yuan in 2023 and 1.51 billion yuan in 2024 before narrowing the deficit last year, underscoring how far commercial growth has run ahead of earnings for the company.

Enflame said in its prospectus that it expects to reach break-even or profitability in 2026 or 2027. It plans to direct much of the IPO proceeds towards development and industrialisation of fifth- and sixth-generation artificial-intelligence chips, software and large-scale computing systems.

The company’s rapid revaluation also highlights the unusual economics of China’s artificial-intelligence chip boom. Investors have rewarded several young semiconductor groups whose sales are expanding quickly but whose research spending remains heavy and earnings records are limited or negative.

Moore Threads Technology, another Shanghai-listed graphics processor developer, created several billionaires after its market debut in December 2025, when its shares rose more than fourfold. Founder and chairman Zhang Jianzhong, a former head of Nvidia’s China operations, was valued at several billion dollars after the listing, while co-founders Zhang Yubo and Wang Dong also crossed the billionaire threshold based on their holdings.

MetaX Integrated Circuits produced a similar outcome after its Shanghai flotation. Chairman and chief executive Chen Weiliang, who previously worked at Advanced Micro Devices, became a billionaire as investors pushed the company’s valuation sharply higher despite continuing operating losses. Early investor Ge Weidong also joined the billionaire ranks through his stake.

The valuations reflect expectations that domestic chipmakers will capture a larger share of China’s fast-growing demand for artificial-intelligence computing as access to the most advanced US-designed processors remains constrained. Domestic producers are competing to supply cloud companies, data centres and developers running large language models, recommendation engines and other computing-intensive services.

Enflame’s commercial position, however, remains unusually concentrated. Tencent is its largest shareholder, with a 17.95 per cent stake after the offering, and sales linked to the technology group accounted for 83.79 per cent of Enflame’s 2025 revenue. The concentration gives Enflame a major anchor customer but also leaves its growth closely tied to purchasing decisions by one group.

The company employed about 860 people as of September 2025, according to disclosures compiled from its listing materials. Founded by former AMD executives Zhao Lidong and Zhang Yalin, Enflame develops accelerator chips, add-on cards, computing systems and software for artificial-intelligence training and inference in data centres.

Only 17.9 million shares, equivalent to 4.16 per cent of Enflame’s enlarged share capital, were freely tradable at the start of trading, limiting the initial public float and potentially amplifying price swings. The retail portion of the offering attracted thousands of times more demand than the shares available.