INSTA360 ONE R was displayed in a water container at the INSTA360 booth at CES 2020 at the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 8, 2020.
David Becker | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Beijing – Chinese companies are so intended for global expansion that even the largest share offer ever on Shanghai’s high-tech Starboard counts the US, which is China’s equivalent, as one of the largest markets.
GoPro rival Shenzhen-based camera company Insta360 raised 1.938 billion yuan ($270 million) on the Shanghai list named Arashi Vision on Wednesday. The shares rose 274%, giving the company a market value of 71 billion yuan ($9.88 billion).
According to INSTA360, the US, Europe, Europe and mainland China are over 23% of revenue last year. The 360-degree camera officially began selling the Apple Store in 2018.
Co-founder Max Richter said in an interview Tuesday that he expects that he has demanded that we remain strong and dismissed concerns about geopolitical risks.
“We are just investing in user-centric research and development and monitoring market trends that will ultimately meet consumers.[‘s] There’s a need,” he told CNBC ahead of the Starboard list.
China launched Shanghai’s Star Market in July 2019 months after Chinese President Xi Jinping announced plans for the board. The NASDAQ-style high-tech board was established to support high-growth high-tech companies while raising requirements for investor bases to limit speculative activity.
In 2019, a CNBC analysis of data accessed via Wind information shows that only 12% of Star Board companies said at least half of their revenue came from outside China. Hundreds of more companies were listed in 2024, with their share rising to over 14%, data shows.
“We’re just looking at the tip of the iceberg. More and more Chinese companies are becoming global,” said King Leung, global head of Fintech and Fintech and Sustainability.
Leung pointed to the global business growth of Chinese companies, including CATL, a battery giant listed in Hong Kong last month. “More than two tiers and three tiers are equally competent,” he said.
Investhk is the Hong Kong government sector that promotes investment in the region. It organized trips that helped connect business in mainland China with overseas opportunities, including one to the Middle East last month.
RoboLock, a robot vacuum cleaner company also listed on Starboard, has announced that it will be listed in Hong Kong this month. More than half of the company’s revenue last year came from overseas markets.
At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Robolock showed off the vacuum with a robotic arm to automatically remove obstacles while cleaning the floor. The device was then launched in the US for $2,600.
Other consumer-focused Chinese companies continue to be surprised by the growing tension between China and the US
In November, Chinese home appliance company Hisense said it aims to become a top seller of US television in two years. And last month, China-based BC BabyCare announced its official expansion to the US, touting its global supply chain as a way to offset tariff risk.
New stages of expansion
Chinese companies have been pushed overseas for the past few years. This is because they grew slowly at home. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, consumer demand has remained inactive.
However, the expansion trend is now evolving into a third stage, with companies looking to build international brands on their own in various local offices employing local employees, says Charlie Chen, head of Asian Studies and Head of Asian Studies at China Renaissance Securities.
He said it was a change from the earliest time when Chinese companies primarily produced products for sale by foreign brands, and then the stage in which Chinese companies subsequently conducted joint ventures with foreign companies.
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The Insta360 is primarily manufactured in deep Shenzhen, but has offices in Berlin, Tokyo and Los Angeles, Richter said. He said the Los Angeles office is focused on service and marketing. The company held its first major offline product launch at Grand Central Terminal in New York in April.
Chen also expects that the next stage for Chinese companies to become global will sell a variety of products. He pointed out that while people who have become global mainly sold household appliances and electronics, it is likely that they will now be significantly expanded to toys.
Already based in Beijing, Pop Mart has become a global toy player with the Labubu figurine series, which has gained popularity all over the world.
Pop Mart’s total sales were primarily domestic and in 2021 were 4.49 billion yuan. In 2024, overseas sales alone increased 373% from a year ago, and sales in mainland China rose to 79.7 billion yuan.
“We established a different Pop Mart and domestic sales in 2021,” said Chris Gao, CLSA’s head of China’s discretionary consumers.
While Hong Kong-listed retailers don’t share much about their global store expansion plans or existing locations, independent bloggers have compiled a list of at least 17 US locations as of mid-May.
Toy companies are “very good” at developing or acquiring character rights, Gao said. She expects global growth to continue as Pop Mart plans to open more stores around the world and consumers are planning to head towards such character-driven products during times of stress and macroeconomic uncertainty.
