China's Baidu debuts in Hong Kong after US$3.1b IPO

Chinese search engine Baidu debuted on Hong Kong's stock exchange on Tuesday after raising US$3.1 billion in its initial public offering, the latest mainland tech giant to flock to the financial hub.

Shares rose a modest 0.8 percent to HK$254 (US$32.71) from their listing price of HK$252 after the market opened.

Over the past 18 months Hong Kong has seen a flurry of Chinese tech firms hold IPOs in the city, part of a drive to list closer to home.

Last year Hong Kong raked in an impressive US$49 billion in IPOs.

Some of the debuts in Hong Kong are dual listings such as Baidu, which is already traded on the Nasdaq in New York.

Others are purely Hong Kong listings such as the medical arm of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com which raised US$3.5 billion in its December homecoming.

More are on the way.

Chinese companies looking at selling shares in the city include Tencent's music group and video site Bilibili.

While the stock exchange has had a boost, the city remains in the doldrums, battered by the worst recession since the late 1990s and with spiking unemployment.