(Yicai) Jan. 6 -- Shares of Ubtech Robotics rebounded after multiple executives of the Chinese humanoid robot maker joined their chairman in pledging not to sell their shares for the next 12 months, despite the expiration of the official lock-up period.

Ubtech [HKG: 9880] closed 10.6 percent higher at HKD51.2 (USD6.60), after surging as much as 13.4 percent intraday, following four straight days of decline that had erased over 40 percent of the stock's value.

Executive directors Xiong Youjun and Wang Lin, along with individual shareholder Zhao Guoqun, all committed to not selling any shares for a year, the Shenzhen-based firm announced yesterday. Xiong, Wang, and Zhao hold around 8.3 million, 8.2 million, and 2.5 million shares respectively, representing about 1.9 percent, 1.9 percent, and 0.6 percent of its total share capital.

The announcement follows a similar commitment from Zhou Jian, founder and chairman. On Dec. 29 last year, the first anniversary of Ubtech's listing, Zhou pledged not to sell his holdings for a year. According to Hong Kong Stock Exchange rules, original shareholders are prohibited from selling a newly listed company's shares within one year of its initial public offering.

However, on the same day, the chairman terminated his acting-in-concert agreement with parties, including the three aforementioned shareholders, which freed them to make independent decisions about stock transfers. This resulted in a nearly 32 percent plunge in the stock price the following day.

Zhou remains Ubtech's largest shareholder, currently holding 70.4 million shares, which represents 16.3 percent of the share capital.

Founded in 2012, Ubtech is China's first publicly listed humanoid robot company, though it has yet to achieve profitability. In the first half of last year, the company reported a net loss of CNY539.8 million (USD73.7 million), a 2 percent improvement from the previous year. Revenue increased 87 percent year-over-year to CNY487.2 million, primarily driven by strong growth in educational robot sales.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Emmi Laine