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Key Takeaways:
Senasic Electronics has filed for a Hong Kong IPO, boasting a list of industry backers including Geely, SAIC, GAC and Sany
The automotive sensor maker's revenue growth slowed last year, but steady improvement in its gross margin could lift it to profitability this year on an adjusted basis
China's new generation of microchip makers are often massive startups led by industry veterans armed with hundreds of millions of investment dollars from big state-run entities. But Senasic Electronics Technology Co. Ltd., which filed for a Hong Kong listing last week, looks far more like a mom-and-pop affair, despite its status as the world's third-largest maker of automotive wireless sensor chips that do things like monitor a car's tire pressure.
In this case, Senasic is really a "pop-and-pop" affair, since its founders and two key executives are both 48-year-old engineers surnamed Li, though they presumably aren't related. Li Mengxiong and Li Shuguang set up their company in 2015 with just 1 million yuan ($145,000) in registered capital, and were its only two initial stakeholders with 75% and 25% of its shares, respectively.
The pair continues to be two of Senasic's key executives. Li Mengxiong, with a background in chip design and experience at mid-tier global firms Sensata Technologies (ST.US) and Sequans Communications (SQNS.US), is Senasic's chairman and CEO; and Li Shuguang, with a similar technical background, leads the company's R&D team. That pair are joined by Zhu Shouteng, 42, with a background in semiconductor sales, as the company's president. Rounding out the core management group is a youthful Xu Yalei, who was only around 30 when she became CFO in 2024.
Despite its mom-and-pop feel, Senasic is no slouch when it comes to attracting big-name backers. Some of China's top car makers are among its investors, including Geely, SAIC and GAC, as well as heavy machinery giant Sany. The IPO also counts CICC as one of its underwriters, showing the company can attract big ...
