Autonomous Mining Truck Pioneer's Shares Dip Below Issue Price on Debut; Sidai Intelligent Driving (03881.HK) Struggles to Shine Amid Profitability Concerns

ZC Asia has learnt that Sidai Intelligent Driving (03881.HK), founded by Professor Li Zexiang – often dubbed the ‘Godfather of DJI’ – officially listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange today, becoming the world's first publicly traded company specialising in autonomous mining trucks.

The company's share price opened higher but declined throughout the day, falling over 15% at one point. At press time, the stock traded at HK$240.6, down 8.52% from its HK$263 issue price, with a market capitalisation of approximately HK$10.212 billion.

(Image source: Snowball)

 For this listing, Sidai Intelligent Driving offered 5.408 million shares globally, raising net proceeds of approximately HK$1.3 billion. The IPO attracted cornerstone investors including Xiangjiang Zhicheng and ICBC Credit Suisse, who collectively subscribed for around HK$546 million. However, this robust subscription lineup failed to withstand selling pressure on the first trading day. The share price's underperformance upon listing stands in stark contrast to the company's association with the ‘Li Zexiang network’ and its status as the ‘first stock’ in its sector.

Xidi Intelligent Driving's listing marks another milestone in Professor Li Zexiang's extensive hard technology incubation portfolio. As a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Li earned the moniker ‘DJI's godfather’ for his early support and incubation of DJI Innovations. His industrial布局 extends far beyond this: in 2023, Solid State Technology, which he founded, listed on the Growth Enterprise Market; WoAn Robotics, in which he holds a significant stake as an investor, also plans to list on the Hong Kong stock exchange on the 30th of this month. The successful listing of Sidai Intelligent Driving further validates the viability and replicability of his unique ‘scholar + entrepreneur + investor’ model.

Established in 2017, Xidi Intelligent Driving's core competitive edge lies in sidestepping the fiercely competitive open-road autonomous driving sector, instead focusing on commercial vehicle autonomous driving solutions for closed environments such as mines and ports. This strategic choice has provided a clear commercialisation pathway. According to its prospectus, by 30 June 2025, the company had delivered 414 autonomous mining trucks and systems, operating the world's largest mixed-fleet mining operation and commanding a 37.7% share of China's autonomous mining truck solutions market.

This rapid business deployment directly fuelled explosive financial growth. Revenue surged from RMB 31.1 million in 2022 to RMB 410 million in 2024, representing a compound annual growth rate of 263%. Revenue for the first half of 2025 reached RMB 408 million, approaching the full-year level of the previous year. Concurrently, the gross profit margin turned positive from negative in 2022 and rose to 24.7% in 2024, demonstrating sustained improvement in profitability.

Since its inception, Xidi Intelligent Driving has been a darling of the capital markets. Prior to listing, the company completed as many as eight rounds of financing, raising a cumulative total of nearly RMB 1.5 billion. This attracted numerous top-tier investment institutions, including Sequoia Capital China, Baidu Ventures, Legend Holdings, and Everbright Holdings. Among these, Sequoia Capital China, as one of the earliest institutional investors, held a 10.61% stake pre-IPO. Wang Hao, Managing Director of Sequoia Capital China, expressed confidence in the technological barriers the company has established within the mining logistics sector.

However, this high growth has been accompanied by persistent losses stemming from substantial investment. Between 2022 and 2024, the company recorded cumulative net losses exceeding RMB 1 billion. In the first half of 2025, losses reached RMB 455 million, primarily attributable to R&D and administrative expenditures. The funds raised through this listing will provide crucial financial support for the company's technological development and market expansion.

Sidizhijia's listing coincides with an accelerated phase of intelligent transformation in China's traditional mining sector. By 2030, China's smart mining market is projected to exceed RMB 2.3 trillion, with the autonomous mining truck segment expected to grow from RMB 1.9 billion in 2024 to RMB 39.6 billion, indicating substantial market potential.

The stock's break below its issue price on its first trading day undoubtedly serves as a cautionary note for the market. It reminds investors that even when operating within a golden sector and backed by star founders, a technology company's long-term value ultimately hinges on its sustained profitability, technological implementation efficiency, and financial health.

Disclaimer: The content herein is for reference only and does not constitute any form of investment advice. Should any information contained herein prove inaccurate, incomplete, or potentially misleading, please refer to the company's official announcements. Market risks exist; investment requires caution.