BEIJING — Investors may have to think twice about betting on Chinese tech startups as new regulations are imposed on mainland companies seeking to go public in the US.

If listing in Hong Kong becomes the only viable option, fund managers will likely need to rethink their investment strategies, as there are practical differences in how New York stock exchanges handle initial public offerings.

Since the summer, both China and the US have raised the bar for Chinese companies wanting to do business in New York.

Not only investors are affected. Chinese companies looking to raise capital face increased uncertainty about their path to listing on public stock markets and possibly lower valuations as well, analysts said.

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Beijing's actions have more imminent consequences. Starting February 15, China's increasingly powerful Cyberspace Administration will officially require data security reviews for certain companies before they are allowed to list overseas.

Putting aside the technical complexities of why and how Chinese companies have worked with foreign institutional investors to list in the US, the new regulations could mean that similar IPOs in the future will likely have to go to Hong Kong.

For tech companies, that could mean lower valuations than if they were listed in New York, said Richard Chen, managing director of Alvarez & Marsal's Transaction Advisory Group in Asia.

He said a market familiar with Silicon Valley could put a higher price on a tech company's growth potential, compared to Hong Kong's greater focus on profitability and familiarity with business models for companies operating brick-and-mortar stores. or they work in fields like semiconductors and precision engineering.