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Joyson Electronic Pursues Robotic Ambitions To Jazz Up IPO

The veteran maker of automotive air bags, which boasts over 100 clients, has filed to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange

Key Takeaways：

Joyson Electronic has filed to list in Hong Kong, revealing it recently raised prices for its air bags to offset declining sales volumes

The automotive veteran is venturing into robotics through a strategic partnership with AgiBot

Rising automotive safety standards and the shift from gas to electric vehicles have turned an investor spotlight to makers of the automotive parts that power such vehicles, a less glamorous industry that received relatively little attention in the past. One of those, veteran Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp. (600699.SH) has disclosed plans for a Hong Kong IPO, becoming the latest company listed on China's domestic boards in Shanghai and Shenzhen to attempt second listings targeting Hong Kong's more global investor pool.

While the company mostly manufactures traditional automotive parts, it's trying to jazz up its listing with disclosure of a recent move into the sexier robotics sector that's become a popular investor flavor lately. More on that shortly.

Formerly the automotive parts division of the Joyson Group in the Eastern city of Ningbo, Joyson Electronic started off primarily as a supplier of high-end automotive functional parts and interior/exterior trim components, according to its preliminary prospectus filed earlier this month. The automotive parts company was restructured in 2010, and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange the next year. Its current controlling shareholder is Wang Jianfeng, who directly holds 37.17% of Joyson Electronic through the Joyson Group.

Joyson Electronic mainly makes automotive safety and electronic solutions, accounting for 62.6% and 27.7% of its revenue in the first four months of this year, respectively. Airbags and smart steering wheels are the primary revenue drivers for safety solutions, contributing 41.8% of the company's total revenue.

Automotive safety giant

Airbags are critical for automotive safety, used to absorb strong forces that occur during severe collisions to ...