Facial recognition startup Megvii files IPO in Hong Kong

Chinese AI firm Megvii Technology, backed by Alibaba, has filed in Hong Kong to conduct an IPO targeting proceeds of at least $500 million, two people said, just as the city faces political unrest and its first recession in a decade. Beijing-based Megvii, widely known for facial recognition platform Face, may raise as much as $1 billion in the initial public offering, said one of the people, who expect the share sale in the fourth quarter of the year. The filing comes as companies postpone or slow down listing plans in a recession-bound city blighted with nearly three months of anti-government protests, and where the benchmark Hang Seng share price index fell to seven-month lows this month. Reuters reported last week that China's biggest ecommerce firm, Alibaba Group, had delayed its up to $15 billion Hong Kong listing. Megvii has decided to press ahead with its IPO plans because it has little business in Hong Kong and expects the unrest to ease later this year, said a third person.