Wuxi XDC Cayman’s shares rose in their trading debut in Hong Kong as investors scrambled to compensate for the lost opportunity during the company’s initial public offering.
Shares of the company, a unit of Chinese contract drugmaker Wuxi Biologics
2269,
opened 31% higher compared with the IPO price of HK$20.60 a share.
The company, which does research, development, and manufacturing with a focus on antibody-drug conjugate, a type of medicine for cancer treatment, raised 3.68 billion Hong Kong dollars, the equivalent of US$471.7 million in the IPO.
People familiar with the deal had said earlier that Wuxi XDC closed its order book early due to strong demand. The company said Thursday that its public offer was “significantly oversubscribed.”
It said 30,726 valid applications had been received under the Hong Kong public offering, representing approximately 49.96 times the total 17.85 million shares initially available for individual investors.
Wuxi XDC is among several companies listing in Hong Kong, which has had a weak year for new offerings. IPO funds raised in the city in the first nine months of the year fell to HK$24.6 billion from HK$73.7 billion in the same period last year.
Wuxi XDC’s IPO had secured commitments from some global investors, including Invesco, Qatar’s sovereign-wealth fund, and HongShan, the investment firm formerly known as Sequoia Capital China, according to the company’s listing document.