Xiaomi begins Hong Kong trading following year's biggest tech IPO
Xiaomi founder, Chairman and CEO Lei Jun (center) attends the listing of the company with Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Chairman Laura Cha (second left), Financial Secretary Paul Chan (second right) and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Chief Executive Charles Li (right) at the Hong Kong Exchanges in Hong Kong, China, on July 9, 2018.
Xiaomi Corp, which issued the biggest tech IPO globally so far this year, started trading Monday morning in Hong Kong.
As the world’s fourth biggest smartphone vendor, Xiaomi has raised over US$5.4 billion through the long-awaited initial public offering under the symbol 1810.
The IPO price is 17 Hong Kong dollars (US$2.6), with investors including billionaire Li Kashing, Tencent’s chairman Pony Ma and Alibaba’s chairman Jack Ma.
Xiaomi shares began trading at HK$16.60, a 2.4 percent drop from the IPO price, amid a rising Hang Seng stock index.
“It’s a new start for Xiaomi after the IPO in terms of more innovation and global expansion,” Lei Jun, Xiaomi’s CEO and chairman, said during the listing ceremony at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Monday morning.
Lei also thanked more than 100,000 investors attending Xiaomi’s IPO, despite the “tough timing,” referring to ongoing trade disputes between China and the United States.
Investors, senior officials from the Hong Kong Exchange, 175 Xiaomi employees and some Xiaomi users attended the ceremony.
Xiaomi, whose products include smartphones, TVs, routers and other smart devices, generated revenue of 114.6 billion yuan in 2017, 67.5 percent growth year-on-year. One-third of Xiaomi’s revenue now comes from international income, Lei said in a public letter.
The company is the first in Hong Kong to sell shares with a dual-class structure since the city changed its rules to allow founders to keep out-sized voting rights.
