After nearly ten months of planning, Col Global Co., Ltd. (ASX: 300364) abruptly terminated its Hong Kong listing plan.

On October 8, Col Global announced that, after comprehensively considering market conditions and its own development plans, it had decided to terminate its H-share issuance and listing. The company launched the Hong Kong plan in December 2025 and formally filed in late February this year, with Citi serving as sole sponsor.

This decision came just one week after the company unveiled a new round of A-share financing plans.

On September 30, Col Global disclosed a private placement proposal, planning to raise no more than 2.833 billion yuan for digital copyright procurement, IP derivative content development, AI large-model research and development, and the construction of an AIGC multimodal content platform.

On October 2, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange immediately issued an inquiry letter, requiring the company to explain the reasonableness of the financing scale and the investment projects, and specifically asking why it was simultaneously pushing forward an A-share private placement and a Hong Kong IPO.

On October 7, the day before the Shenzhen Stock Exchange required a response to the inquiry letter, the board of Col Global decided to terminate the H-share listing.

From the timeline, the inquiry into the A-share private placement was very likely an important factor prompting Col Global to reassess its financing path. After terminating the H-share listing, the problem of simultaneously advancing equity financing in both markets was eliminated.

However, another difficult issue facing Col Global is that the scale of the new fundraising far exceeds its own financial size.

As of the end of June this year, Col Global's net assets attributable to shareholders of the parent company were only 263 million yuan, monetary funds were 277 million yuan, and interest-bearing liabilities were 428 million yuan. The proposed fundraising amount of 2.833 billion yuan was equivalent to about 10.8 times the net assets attributable to shareholders of the parent company at the end of the period.

The Shenzhen Stock Exchange required the company to demonstrate whether the financing scale matched its existing business, management capabilities, and personnel reserves, and to further explain the use of funds.

Of that amount, 864 million yuan is planned for upgrading digital copyright content resources, 575 million yuan for IP derivative content development, and a large sum for AI models and content production technology.

Col Global currently already owns more than 5.6 million digital content resources. The necessity of adding new copyrights, the development efficiency of existing copyrights, and whether future investment can generate reasonable returns have all become issues of regulatory concern.

In the first half of 2026, Col Global achieved revenue of 578 million yuan, up 3.85% year on year; net loss attributable to shareholders of the parent company was about 43 million yuan.

Among that, revenue from short dramas and IP derivatives was 411 million yuan, up 108.72% year on year, contributing more than 70% of revenue and replacing traditional online literature as the largest source of income.

The company is using AI to accelerate the development of online literature IP. As of the first half of the year, it had cumulatively launched more than 1,200 premium AI short dramas, of which more than 10 had surpassed 100 million views, and it plans to raise annualized capacity to 3,000 by the end of the year.

Overseas, Col Global has formed a short-drama layout that combines equity participation and self-operation.

On one hand, the company holds equity in Maple Leaf Interactive, the operator of ReelShort; on the other hand, it has successively launched its own overseas short-drama platforms such as Sereal+ and FlareFlow, hoping to directly share in content distribution and user payment revenue.

This expansion path requires continuous investment. In addition to copyright development and AI production costs, overseas short-drama platforms also need to place advertisements on channels such as Facebook and TikTok to acquire paying users.

In 2025, Col Global's selling expenses reached 953 million yuan, up about 105% year on year, with promotion spending brought by overseas business expansion an important component.

As its overseas business expands, the relationship of interests between Col Global and its partners has begun to show cracks.

Maple Leaf Interactive was initially established by Col Global in the United States, and later gradually became independent through multiple rounds of equity adjustments. With ReelShort, it became a leading company in the overseas short-drama market, while Col Global retained an equity stake.

The relationship between the two sides became complicated as Col Global developed its own short-drama business. Col Global is both a shareholder of Maple Leaf Interactive and, through products such as FlareFlow, competes with it for overseas short-drama users.

On August 1, Maple Leaf Interactive stated in a public statement that the previously signed Settlement and Governance Agreement restricted its board's governance rights and the company's channels for pursuing accountability, yet did not impose equivalent constraints on the director appointed by Col Global, and also narrowed the scope of damages that Maple Leaf Interactive could claim.

Maple Leaf Interactive also pointed out that the self-operated overseas short-drama products launched by Col Global highly overlapped with its own in terms of product positioning, target users, and payment models.

Col Global subsequently responded that the relevant agreement was signed by both parties on the basis of equality, voluntariness, and full consultation, is legally binding, and that the company has always performed its shareholder duties in accordance with the law and will handle the dispute through legal procedures.

Another dispute directly involves FlareFlow's advertising expenses.

On September 24, Col Global announced that Hong Kong Pinzhong Interactive Network Marketing Technology Co., Ltd. had applied to the Beijing Arbitration Commission for arbitration, demanding that Col Global and related entities pay about US$12.4426 million and 159,100 yuan.

According to the announcement, Pinzhong Interactive had provided overseas advertising promotion services for FlareFlow since March 2025, and Col Global and its subsidiaries subsequently joined the contractual arrangement.

Pinzhong Interactive claims that the relevant entities owe about US$12.12 million in advertising fees from October 2025 to February 2026, demands that Col Global and related companies bear joint and several payment liability, and seeks fees such as liquidated damages.

At present, the arbitration has been accepted. Due to property preservation, about 2.91 million yuan of bank deposits of Col Global and its subsidiaries have been frozen, and about 3.33% equity in Beijing Col Global Culture Media Co., Ltd. held by the company has also been frozen.

Col Global said it has actively responded to the lawsuit and that the relevant preservation measures will not currently have a material adverse impact on production and operations.

For Col Global, whose net assets attributable to shareholders of the parent company are only 263 million yuan and which has not yet achieved sustained profitability, whether the fundraising scale can match its actual operating capacity, and to what extent new copyright and AI investment can be converted into profit, remain questions the company must answer.