The firm closed trading for the day at HK$306.20 a share, compared with its listing price of HK$263.00, while its shares listed in Shenzhen closed trading for the day up 1.1 percent to 263 yuan.
At CATL’s listing ceremony, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said the success of the company’s trading debut underscored the increased confidence of global investors in Hong Kong’s stock market.
“The outstanding performance of the Hong Kong stock market and the strength of the Hong Kong dollar have invigorated market sentiment and provided positive expectations for the IPO market,” Chan said.
“The listing of CATL has combined these positive factors more prominently.
“I believe it will further improve the liquidity of Hong Kong stocks and promote the optimisation of the market structure.”
Chan added that it’s the right time for mainland and local enterprises to go public given the complex geopolitical environment where investors are actively diversifying their investment allocations.
For his part, CATL founder Robin Zeng said “our listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange means that we have been more widely integrated into the global capital market, and it also marked a new milestone in our mission to drive the global zero-carbon economy.
“CATL is not just a manufacturer of battery components, we are also a provider of system solutions, and we’re committed to becoming a zero-carbon technology company.”
Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing chief executive Bonnie Chan said the city’s IPO market now ranks as the second in the world following CATL’s trading debut.
The listing will encourage a so-called “A plus H share plan” or “A to H share plan” whereby domestic companies listed on the mainland under A-share markets turn to H-share markets to support their overseas expansion.
“Over the years we’ve actually supported a lot of companies, which have already established a domestic listing status, and offered them an additional offshore fundraising platform,” Bonnie Chan said.
“I have very strong confidence that we are able to support these offshore expansion plans of the A-share companies.”
The HKEX chief added that the stock exchange operator is now handling about 150 IPO applications, among which one third are A-share companies.
