Shares of China’s Hua Hong Semiconductor Ltd. jumped in its trading debut in Shanghai after it raised 21.2 billion yuan ($2.96 billion) in the largest sale of new equity in the Asia Pacific region this year.
The stock rose as high as 15% in early trade before paring gains. The firm sold 408 million shares, or 24% of its total share capital, at 52 yuan each. Half of the offering was alloted to 30 strategic investors, with the rest distributed among funds and individuals. The company’s Hong Kong-listed shares fell as much as 7.6%.
Hua Hong joins a slew of semiconductor firms to have debuted in mainland China this year. Giving the companies access to public markets is in sync with Beijing’s plans to support the industry in a bid to counter a US-led campaign to block access to cutting-edge technologies. The US has blacklisted Chinese companies and research institutes in diverse fields from chips and supercomputing to cloud and data mining.
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