CHINESE mainland artificial intelligence (AI) company Megvii Technology Ltd. is planning to file a fresh application to the Hong Kong exchange for an initial public offering (IPO) in the city, people familiar with the process said yesterday.

Megvii, which counts Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Ant Financial Services Group and Lenovo Group Ltd. among its shareholders, had filed an application for an IPO in August last year, but that application lapsed today.

Megvii is working on updating its financials for 2019 before filing a fresh application to the exchange, one of the people said.

According to rules of the Hong Kong exchange, an application becomes inactive if the company doesn’t make progress with regard to the listing within six months from the date of filing.

However, a new application can be submitted within three months of a lapsed application as a renewal or continuance of its original application.

In view of the coronavirus epidemic, the process of filing a fresh application is being slightly delayed, but there is no change in the company’s plans with regard to going ahead with the IPO, the person said.

The company is looking to tap the market this year.

In October, the United States put several Chinese entities, including Megvii, on its export blacklist.

Megvii had then said that it objected to the company’s addition to the U.S. entity list. It also said the direct business impact would be minimal.

Megvii was founded in 2011 by chief executive Yin Qi and two friends from Tsinghua University. (SD-Agencies)