It was long rumored that Xiaomi, one of the fastest growing smartphone manufacturers based in China, would be going public. The company confirmed its intention to file for an initial public offering not too long ago. It finally made its debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange but contrary to what one normally expects from IPOs of major tech companies, the Xiaomi IPO has been underwhelming so far.
Xiaomi, a company that’s around eight years old, was aiming for a post-IPO valuation of $100 billion but it wasn’t able to achieve that as its stock dipped soon after it started trading. It did recover to trade around the IPO price but the company had to settle for a $54 billion valuation. It has raised $4.7 billion from the IPO.
The stock opened at HK$16.60 which was below the list price of HK$17. It eventually dipped to HK$16 before closing at HK$16.78 for the first day of trading. The underwhelming performance may partly be blamed on the ongoing trade war between China and the United States. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun hinted to as much, saying that the “global capital markets are in constant flux” owing to the tensions between Beijing and Washington.
“Although the macroeconomic conditions are far from ideal, we believe a great company can still rise to the challenge and distinguish itself,” Jun added, reiterating his belief in Xiaomi.
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