Quick Take: Ping An Healthcare’s Strong Start Fizzles in Trading Debut

A health care unit of Ping An Insurance Group, China’s second-largest life insurer by premium income, saw its share price fluctuate after an initial rise during its trading debut on Friday on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Shares of Ping An Healthcare and Technology Co. Ltd., widely known as Ping An Good Doctor, rose 4.56% to HK$57.3 ($7.30) as the market opened, but fell to HK$54.95 in four minutes, nearing its initial public offering (IPO) price of HK$54.8.

The share price fluctuated around HK$55.5 and turnover reached HK$3.8 billion during the debut day. It had returned to its IPO price at the end of trading.

Good Doctor CEO Wang Tao said at the bourse that he didn’t pay much attention to short-term share price changes and hopes Good Doctor’s investors will be long-term.

Good Doctor runs an internet health care platform that offers online medical and wellness services such as family doctor services, consumer health care services, a health mall, and health management and wellness services. The company is currently China’s largest such platform, with 32.9 million monthly active users and a daily average of 370,000 online consultations in 2017, beating rival Tencent-backed We Doctor.

Although the company posted its third consecutive loss last year of 1 billion yuan ($157.3 million), widening from 758 million yuan in 2016 and 324 million yuan in 2015, its Hong Kong IPO has attracted strong interest from global investors. All seven of its cornerstone investors — including BlackRock Inc., Singapore sovereign fund GIC, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board — have subscribed to around half of the shares allocated for institutional investors.

Contact reporter Coco Feng (renkefeng@caixin.com)