Shares in Chinese bubble-tea chain Baicha Baidao, also known as Chabaidao, plunged nearly 40 per cent on its first trading day in Hong Kong on Apr 23, 2024. HONG KONG: Shares in Chinese bubble-tea chain Baicha Baidao plunged nearly 40 per cent on its first trading day in Hong Kong on Tuesday, in a fresh blow to the finance hub's efforts to revive its markets.
The plunge marked the worst debut since 2015 for a company that had raised at least US$300 million, according to Bloomberg. But Hong Kong's security chief-turned-city leader John Lee told reporters Tuesday that five new measures announced last week by China's securities regulator would help boost sentiment.
"We have also been actively promoting financing in Hong Kong to top unicorn companies in the mainland," he said, referring to startups worth at least US$1 billion.While reporting its second-best profits on record in February, the Hong Kong exchange saw only 73 IPOs last year, raising HK$46.3 billion.