...marking the largest first-day leap in the country's stock market history.
Chinese quantum information technology (QIT) firm QuantumCTek (688027:SH) started public trading on the Shanghai exchange's Star Market on July 9. Its stock was up by 875.57%, hitting CNY 352.96 apiece at the midday break.
The stock closed its first day at CNY 370.34 per share, or 923.91% higher than its IPO price.
QuantumCTek is mainly engaged in the research and development, production, sales and technical services of quantum communication software and hardware.
According to the company's prospectus, from 2017 to 2019, the revenues were CNY 283.66 million, CNY 264.67 million and CNY 257.85 million, keeping a downward trend. During the same period, R&D expenses were CNY 66.52 million, CNY 74.95 million and CNY 60.71 million.
This listing can possibly help QuantumCTek increase R&D expenditure and the sustainability of its business.
While the company's scale is not that significant, its stellar debut provides some insights into the interplay of China's technology and financial sector:
1. The local individual investors are recently pursuing technology stocks; the most famous of them (for instance, Cambricon and SMIC, which are preparing to kick off trading in July) are in the public limelight.
2. Designed for high-tech companies – specifically, the Star Market – it is currently enjoying sky-high valuations of its stocks.