A pedestrian wearing a protective mask walks past a stock ticker at the Exchange Square complex, which houses the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, in Hong Kong, May 29, 2020. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)

Hutchmed (China) Ltd, a cancer drug developer backed by billionaire Li Ka-shing, jumped in its first day of trade in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region about two years after it delayed a previous attempt to list in the city.

Shares of the biopharmaceutical company that already trades in the US and the UK opened at HK$51.40 on Wednesday, up 28 percent from their offer price of HK$40.10. Hutchmed raised US$537 million in the offering. It had initially planned a listing in Hong Kong in 2019, but the plan was shelved amid market uncertainties at the time.

Prior to Wednesday, almost 59 percent of the 44 companies that started trading in Hong Kong this year ended their first session higher than the listing price

Hutchmed’s debut comes after a stellar first half of the year for first-time share sales in the Asian financial hub, with a record US$28 billion raised, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Prior to Wednesday, almost 59 percent of the 44 companies that started trading in Hong Kong this year ended their first session higher than the listing price, with eight of them popping more than 50 percent on their debuts, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

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Shares of property management firm Yuexiu Services Group Ltd. ended their first day of trading on Monday flat from their IPO price of HK$4.88. That contrasts with a 259 percent jump for Morimatsu International Holdings, a mainland pressure equipment manufacturer which debuted the same day. Earlier this month, China Youran Dairy Group slumped 12 percent after its US$643 million IPO.

Chinese bubble tea chain Nayuki Holdings Ltd. fell 5 percent on its Hong Kong debut on Wednesday.

Hutchmed’s stock in New York is up 3.8 percent this year, while the London-listed shares have risen 3.3 percent.

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