Chinese Fintech Firm Falls as Much as 13% in Hong Kong Debut

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By Bloomberg / Mar 31, 2021 11:18 AM / Finance

Photo: Bloomberg

Chinese fintech firm Bairong Inc. slumped during its debut in Hong Kong, the second listing in the financial hub this week to disappoint following a global selloff in China’s technology sector.

Shares of the artificial intelligence-powered technology platform fell by as much as 13% to HK$27.55 in Hong Kong. The company had priced its shares at HK$31.80 each in the IPO offering, the high end of its indicated range.

If the decline holds through the close, that would make it the worst debut among IPOs exceeding $500 million in Hong Kong since February 2018. A-Living Smart City Services Co. dropped 23% when it debuted.

Bairong’s $507 million listing comes after lackluster investor response to a number of tech debuts recently against the backdrop of a broader selloff due to concerns about lofty valuations and increasing crackdown by Beijing. Video streaming service Bilibili Inc. fell during its debut on Monday while Baidu Inc. - which debuted just last week - is trading nearly 15% below its listing price.

Linklogis Inc., another fintech company, is scheduled to list on April 9.

Bairong’s cornerstone investors include Cederberg Capital Ltd., China Structural Reform Fund Corp. and Franchise Fund LP, which together bought about 64 million shares in the company, accounting for over 40% of this offering, according to its prospectus. The company’s revenue jumped 47% on year in 2019, but is down during the first nine months of 2020 relative to the same period.

Contact editor Marcus Ryder (marcusryder@caixin.com)

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