BENGALURU, April 18 — Chinese tea chain Chagee secured a valuation of US$6.2 billion (RM27 billion) after its shares gained 21 per cent in their Nasdaq debut yesterday, defying volatility stemming from the United States' trade war with Beijing.
The company's American depositary shares opened at US$33.75 (RM150) apiece, compared with the initial public offering price of US$28.
Chagee sold 14.7 million ADS at the top of its marketed range of $26 to $28 per share to raise US$411 million (RM1.8 billion), in the biggest listing for a Chinese consumer company since vaping firm RLX Technology's US$1.4 billion IPO in January 2021, according to Dealogic data.
The market reaction underscores sustained investor confidence in Beijing's promises to boost domestic consumption and support capital markets, as confidence sours among businesses and consumers from an all-out economic war between the two largest world economies.
"Many China-linked IPOs we have seen recently are plays on the growth of the Chinese consumer and therefore are relatively insulated from any tariff-linked disturbances, we believe," said IPOX CEO Josef Schuster.
Chinese bubble tea firms Mixue and Guming went public in Hong Kong earlier this year.
Founded in 2017 by Junjie Zhang, Chagee had nearly 6,700 teahouses worldwide at the end of March, with most of them located in premium shopping malls across China under a franchise scheme.
The company generated 29.5 billion yuan (RM18 billion) in sales last year.
— Reuters
