The Tamesis
Wang Xinyang, founder and chairman of Changchun Changchun Microelectronics.
Changchun Changchun Microelectronics
timeThe trend of mainland Chinese technology companies flocking to Hong Kong for listings shows no signs of abating. The latest company to go public is Changchun Changchun Microelectronics Co., a developer of CMOS image sensors that enable robots to “see.” The company, which is based in China’s industrial hub Changchun, has seen its shares rise 144% since its listing on Friday, making founder and chairman Wang Xinyang a billionaire.
Mr. Wang, 46 years old, is the largest shareholder of Changguangchenxin, holding 23% of the shares. Based on Tuesday’s closing price of HK$97.5, Mr. Wang’s net worth, plus the 1.6% stake held by his wife, Changxin Chenxin Chief Operating Officer Zhang Yanxia, amounts to US$1.3 billion. Changguang Chenxin did not respond to a request for comment on Wang’s billionaire status.
Changguang Chenxin’s IPO raised HK$2.6 billion ($332.4 million) and attracted cornerstone investors including Chinese private equity giants Hillhouse Capital and Boyu Capital, as well as early ByteDance backers Source Code Capital and Hong Kong-based Value Partners. Changxin Chenxin disclosed in its prospectus that 76% of the funds raised from the IPO will be used for R&D investment, including the construction of a new R&D center in Hangzhou, and the rest will be used to expand business in Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan.
The company specializes in CMOS image sensors, chips that convert light into electrical signals to capture images and are embedded in a range of electronics from smartphones and cameras to X-ray machines and robots. Changxin Chenxin operates on a fabless model and designs sensors primarily for industrial applications, such as detecting defects in semiconductor manufacturing and robot navigation. They are also deployed in advanced cameras, such as those used in scientific research.
The company cited a Frost & Sullivan report in its prospectus that it will become the world’s third-largest industrial image sensor supplier by 2024, with a market share of 15.2%, second only to Japan’s Sony and Nasdaq-listed U.S. company Onsemi. Changguang Chenxin generates nearly 80% of its revenue from mainland China. Its customers include state-owned optoelectronic company Changchun UP Optoelectronics Technology, which is Changxin Chenxin’s largest institutional investor; Hikvision Robotics, a subsidiary of Chinese surveillance product supplier Hikvision, which produces autonomous mobile robots and industrial cameras; Luster LightTech, a manufacturer of visual inspection equipment. It also sells image sensors to markets including Europe, Japan, Canada, South Korea and the United States
In 2025, Changguangchenxin’s net profit will increase by 49% year-on-year to 293 million yuan (US$43 million), and revenue will increase by 27% to 856.5 million yuan. The company attributed the growth to increased sales of sensors for industrial imaging applications, which accounted for 75% of revenue. During this period, nearly 24% of sales came from sensors for scientific imaging applications such as fluorescence cameras, with the remainder coming from professional cameras and medical imaging applications.
Mr. Wang studied applied electronics at Zhejiang University, then specialized in microelectronics at the University of Southampton, UK, and finally received his PhD. Project at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. After working for a period of time at Belgian CMOS image sensor developer CMOSIS (later acquired by Austrian sensor manufacturer Ams Osram), he returned to China in 2012 and founded Gpixel. Since then, Changguang Chenxin has attracted pre-IPO investors including Hillhouse Capital, Juyuan New City (a fund backed by Chinese chip giant SMIC), and several government funds.
Meanwhile, his wife joined Changxin Optoelectronics in 2013 as marketing director and became chief operating officer in 2018. He holds a bachelor’s degree in applied science from Delft University of Technology, a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Concordia University in Canada, and a bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering from Zhejiang University.
Wang is the latest Chinese billionaire to amass a fortune in the robotics supply chain. Other billionaires include Howard Huang, founder and chairman of Shenzhen-based Orbbec, which makes 3D vision cameras that enable robots to perceive depth like the human eye.
