Dobot's ChiNext IPO stalls two months after approval, lagging peers

Key Contrast with Liqin Resources' Smooth "Return to A" Path

As one of the year's significant "H-share return to A-share" (H回A) projects, Liqin Resources has already launched its subscription and is set to list on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange's main board. In contrast, Yuejiang Technology, which also followed a "H-share first, A-share later" path, passed its ChiNext IPO review on July 22 but has yet to submit its registration two months later.

IPO Progress Lagging Behind Peers

According to statistics, among all IPO projects on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges this year, all companies that passed review before early September—except Yuejiang Technology—have submitted their registration. Whether compared vertically among "H回A" projects or horizontally across all IPO projects, Yuejiang Technology's IPO progress has been notably slow.

Speculation Over Delayed Registration

The reasons behind Yuejiang Technology's prolonged delay in submitting registration have been widely discussed by market participants. The Beijing Business Daily noted that recent market rumors suggest a tightening of IPO thresholds for robotics companies. Additionally, before the IPO review meeting, Yuejiang Technology was embroiled in a public dispute over equity claims.

Diverging Financial Performance

During the critical "return to A" period, Yuejiang Technology's revenue and net profit performance have shown divergence. In the first half of this year, while the company's revenue doubled year-on-year, its net loss exceeded RMB 100 million, widening compared to the same period last year.

Stalled at the "Registration Gate"

Two months after passing its IPO review, Yuejiang Technology's ChiNext IPO has seen no further progress. In contrast, Liqin Resources, another "return to A" company, received its registration approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) less than a month after passing its main board IPO review, and has now launched its subscription.

Yuejiang Technology is primarily engaged in the R&D, production, and sale of collaborative robots and embodied intelligent robots. According to the company, it ranked first globally in collaborative robot sales in 2025.

Timeline Comparison

| Company | IPO Acceptance | IPO Review Passed | Registration Submitted | Registration Effective | |---|---|---|---|---| | Liqin Resources | December 2025 | July 7, 2026 | July 10, 2026 (3 days after review) | July 31, 2026 | | Yuejiang Technology | April 2026 | July 22, 2026 | Not yet submitted | N/A |

Beyond the "H回A" comparison, Yuejiang Technology's progress is also notably slower than the average across all IPOs reviewed this year. According to data from iFinD, a total of 50 companies had their IPOs approved by the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges in 2026. Among them, all companies that passed review before early September—except Yuejiang Technology—have submitted their registration.

Expert Commentary

Gao Chengyuan, President of the Tiaoyuan Influence Research Institute, noted that a prolonged delay in submitting registration after passing the IPO review may indicate that the company needs to further address "post-meeting matters" raised by the listing committee. This could involve the company supplementing materials and the intermediary agency conducting verification and issuing special opinions, which objectively lengthens the timeline.

Fundraising Plan

According to Yuejiang Technology's prospectus, the company plans to raise RMB 1.2 billion through this IPO, to be used for:

• Multi-legged robot R&D and industrialization projects
• Humanoid robot technology enhancement projects
• Marketing capability improvement projects
• Supplementary working capital

Notably, the company plans to invest RMB 300 million in supplementary working capital. However, as of the end of 2025, the company held RMB 2.217 billion in cash on its balance sheet.

Market Speculation on the Two-Month Stalemate

The slow progress of Yuejiang Technology's IPO after passing the review has inevitably sparked market speculation about the underlying reasons.

Rumors of Tightened IPO Thresholds for Robotics

Recently, rumors have circulated that IPO thresholds for robotics companies are being tightened. According to media reports, some investment bankers have received internal reminders from their firms indicating that for hard-tech IPOs, including robotics, if the company's industry position is not sufficiently prominent, the listing process may be affected. One leading brokerage firm stated that its bankers were not notified through window guidance, but rather that the reminders were aimed at reinforcing the front-end gatekeeping responsibilities of sponsor institutions.

Market Link to Unitree Technology's Performance

The market generally attributes the tightening to the secondary market performance of Unitree Technology. On August 19, Unitree Technology listed on the STAR Market (科创板), earning the title of "A-share's first humanoid robot stock." Its listing established a key valuation benchmark for embodied intelligence in the capital market.

However, Unitree Technology's stock price peaked on its listing day, opening at RMB 1,100 per share—a price that has since become its all-time high. As of the close on September 21, Unitree Technology's stock price had fallen to RMB 494.85 per share, giving it a total market capitalization of RMB 200.1 billion.

Some industry insiders suggest that the sharp decline in Unitree Technology's stock price after listing may be due to an overhang of future earnings expectations. Others believe the broader market downturn since July and the impact of several mega-IPOs have also played a role.

Regulatory Focus Areas

Bai Wenxi, Vice Chairman of the China Enterprise Capital Alliance, told Beijing Business Daily that regulatory scrutiny for robotics company IPOs focuses on:

• Revenue quality
• Technology and mass production capabilities
• Going-concern viability
• Intellectual property and stability of core personnel

For unprofitable companies, regulators may focus on whether losses are narrowing, expense ratios, gross margins, order conversion, production capacity digestion from fundraising, and depreciation pressure. Given that humanoid robotics is still in its early commercialization stage, regulators are likely to place greater emphasis on verifiable application scenarios and recurring revenue, rather than demonstration videos, valuations, or concept labels.

Pre-Review Equity Dispute

Beyond industry factors, Yuejiang Technology faced a public whistleblowing incident before its IPO review. The company's own equity dispute may also be a potential obstacle to its registration.

At the time, an individual claiming to be a co-founder and former Executive Vice President and COO of Yuejiang Technology, Song Tao, accused the company of deliberately concealing equity ownership disputes worth over RMB 100 million. Yuejiang Technology denied these allegations.

Gao Chengyuan noted that the registration process involves more comprehensive and prudent review. Matters raised in the whistleblowing incident—whether they exist and whether information disclosure is complete—may require further confirmation during the registration stage.

Net Loss Widens in First Half of the Year

Yuejiang Technology has yet to achieve profitability. During the IPO review meeting, the listing committee questioned the company on the prudence of its forecast for turning a profit.

Listing Committee Questions

According to documents disclosed by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, the listing committee required Yuejiang Technology to:

• Explain the prudence of its forecast to achieve profitability by 2028, considering:
• The competitive landscape and its own market position in collaborative and embodied intelligent robots
• Commercialization progress
• Order backlog
• Trends in period expenses
• Compare with domestic peers in terms of market prospects, core technology advantages, substantive barriers to mass production, performance, and customer types
• Ensure adequate risk disclosure

The committee also required the company to improve the prudence of forward-looking information, such as the estimated timeline for achieving profitability, and to enhance the adequacy of risk disclosure. On August 21, Yuejiang Technology disclosed its response to the listing committee's review comments.

Financial Highlights

| Period | Revenue | Net Profit (Loss) | |---|---|---| | H1 2026 | RMB 316 million (+106.6% YoY) | RMB -106 million (loss widened from RMB -40.87 million in H1 2025) | | 2025 | RMB 493 million | RMB -83.54 million | | 2024 | RMB 375 million | RMB -95.36 million | | 2023 | RMB 287 million | RMB -103 million |

For the first half of 2026, Yuejiang Technology's revenue surged 106.6% year-on-year to approximately RMB 316 million. However, its net loss attributable to shareholders widened to approximately RMB -106 million, compared to a loss of approximately RMB -40.87 million in the same period last year.

The company attributed the revenue growth primarily to a significant increase in sales of six-axis collaborative robots and embodied intelligent robots. Embodied intelligent robots became an important revenue growth driver, accounting for 14.3% of total revenue in the first half of 2026.

Historical Financial Data (2023–2025)

• Revenue: Grew steadily from RMB 287 million (2023) to RMB 493 million (2025)
• Net Profit (Loss): Continued losses, but narrowing: RMB -103 million (2023) → RMB -95.36 million (2024) → RMB -83.54 million (2025)
• Core Net Profit (Loss) (after deducting non-recurring items): RMB -120 million (2023) → RMB -108 million (2024) → RMB -124 million (2025)

Stock Performance in Hong Kong

On the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Yuejiang Technology's stock price hit a high of HKD 50 per share in February this year, but has since declined. As of the close on September 21, the stock fell 3.21% to HKD 21.1 per share, giving it a total market capitalization of HKD 9.283 billion.

Company Response

Beijing Business Daily sent an interview request to Yuejiang Technology regarding the above matters, but had not received a response as of press time.

Reported by Beijing Business Daily reporters Ma Huanhuan and Li Jiaxue