A blockbuster IPO by CXMT has handed the city of Hefei paper gains of 5,000 per cent, turning its municipal funds into a Rmb1tn stake now worth about $148 bn. Hefei’s two municipal vehicles own 30 % of the chipmaker, while the national “Big Fund” holds 7.9 %. The surge validates Hefei’s strategy of acting like a venture‑capital fund to nurture strategic industries such as semiconductors, EVs and AI.

Founder Zhu Yiming, a Tsinghua physics graduate, saw his net worth jump roughly $9 bn to nearly $14 bn after the listing. The IPO also enriched China’s banks, especially CICC, which led the underwriting and earned a modest 0.39 % fee on the deal. Major lenders including Agricultural Bank of China and China Merchants Bank recorded paper gains of about 16× their pre‑IPO investments.

Hedge funds tied to Deep Seek founder Liang Wenfeng received large allocations at Rmb8.66 a share, locking in immediate profits. Analysts say the CXMT model reflects a broader shift in China from bank‑led lending toward direct equity financing for capital‑intensive, high‑risk tech sectors, requiring patient, risk‑tolerant state capital.