FAST NEWS: Chenqi Tech narrows loss in HK trading debut

The Latest: Chinese ride-sharing company Chenqi Technology Ltd. (9680.HK) opened at HK$30 in their Wednesday trading debut, 14.3% lower than their IPO price of HK$35, giving the company a market capitalization of about HK$6.1 billion ($780 million).

Looking Up: Its international portion of the listing was fully subscribed, with 106 investors subscribing for the shares, representing an oversubscription of approximately 17%.

Take Note: The local portion of the company’s public offering in Hong Kong was only about 60% subscribed, reflecting lukewarm interest among small retail investors.

Digging Deeper: Chenqi Technology is a smart mobility platform of GAC Group, jointly invested by GAC Group and Tencent (0700.HK), Guangzhou Public Transportation Group and other investors. It started online trial operation in June 2019 in Guangzhou, with Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau as the center, and then gradually expand to the whole country. The company, which uses the OnTime brand, or Ruqi, plans to spend HK$443 million of its IPO proceeds on R&D for its autonomous driving and robotaxi operations. That may eventually replace its current ride-sharing business, which is losing money even as it sustains the company in the present.

Market Reaction: Chenqi spent most of Wednesday morning below its IPO price and closed at HK$33 at the midday break, 5.7% lower than its IPO price.

Translation by A. Au

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