DOMESTIC artificial intelligence giant SenseTime Group plans to price its shares at HK$3.85 (US$0.49) each to raise US$740 million in its revised Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO), according to sources with knowledge of the matter. The company sold 1.5 billion shares in the deal, its second attempt to list in Hong Kong in a matter of weeks. SenseTime had flagged a HK$3.85 to HK$3.99 per share price range when the deal was relaunched Monday. SenseTime’s initial attempt was shelved after it was placed on a U.S. investment blacklist as the institutional bookbuilding was being finalized. The decision by the U.S. Treasury meant U.S. investors could not buy into the offering, which was withdrawn while SenseTime revised its prospectus. The “dynamic and evolving nature of the relevant U.S. regulations” prompted SenseTime to exclude U.S. investors from the offering, the company said in a revised filing this week. The sanctions still won’t stop a U.S. investor from buying or trading its class B shares, it said. SenseTime increased the value of the cornerstone investors from US$450 million to about US$511 million in a bid to have the IPO carried out successfully. In its revised prospectus, SenseTime said the U.S. investment ban would have no impact on its business operations. SenseTime shares are due to start trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange Dece. 30. (SD-Agencies) | 