Investing.com - Chinese travel website Tongcheng-Elong Holdings (HK:0780) opened at HK$10.78 per share on Monday in its first day of trading, up 10% from its IPO price at HK$9.8.
Tongcheng-Elong's strong debut was a rare case amid a sluggish IPO market in Hong Kong this year. Ten of the most popular new stocks dropped 36% on average from their IPO prices, according to Bloomberg.
Funded by tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd (HK:0700), the Chinese travel agent bagged a total of $180 million from an IPO in Hong Kong last Friday, much lower than the $1 billion that was originally touted.
It sold 143.8 billion shares at HK$9.8 per piece, near the bottom of the range the company offered between HK$9.75 to HK$12.65 per share.
Said to be a forerunner in China’s online travel industry, Tongcheng-Elong offers products and services covering nearly all aspects of travel, including transportation ticketing, accommodation reservation and various ancillary value-added travel products.
The group’s total revenue grew by 60.3% from RMB1,245.8 million for the first six months in 2017 to RMB1,996.8 million for the same period in 2018.