Shares of Chinese lithium ion battery maker REPT Battero Energy rose 5% in early trading after the company’s debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday.
The Tsingshan Group-backed firm raised HK$2.12 billion ($271.71 million) from selling 116.1 million shares in its initial public offering (IPO).
The final price of HK$18.30 per share was set at the low end of the range of HK$18.20 to HK$20.60 when the deal launched last week. REPT shares opened at HK$18.60 and rose as high as HK$19.22.
Hong Kong’s broader Hang Seng Index was down 0.9% early on Monday.
REPT was the latest in a string of Hong Kong IPOs to price at the lower end of the band because of weak investor demand.
Institutional demand was 1.27 times the number of shares on offer to investors in the IPO, according to REPT’s regulatory filings, while retail demand was 1.21 times.
Demand at those levels is considered poor compared to the peak of Hong Kong’s IPO boom in 2021 when some deals were thousands of times oversubscribed.
Higher-for-longer interest rates and ongoing global geopolitical tensions have pushed Hong Kong IPO volumes in 2023 to the lowest point in at least 20 years, according to LSEG data.