Electronic boards display various stock prices at Exchange Square in Hong Kong on March 9, 2020. (ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP)

HONG KONG - Chinese lithium battery maker CALB Co's shares opened in line with their HK$38 apiece issue price in the company's Hong Kong Stock Exchange debut on Thursday.

CALB raised US$1.28 billion in its initial public offering (IPO), the largest in Hong Kong in 2022

The company raised US$1.28 billion in its initial public offering (IPO), the largest in Hong Kong in 2022.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.07 percent at the open and is up 5.1 percent so far this week, heading for the biggest weekly percentage gain since early November 2020.

CALB sold 265.8 million shares and set the price of the stock at the bottom of the HK$38 to HK$51 per share range outlined when the deal was launched.

The deal received a lukewarm response from investors with retail shareholders not taking up to their full entitlement of shares on offer, CALB's listing documents showed.

READ MORE: HK shares up nearly 6%, log best day in almost 7 weeks

The institutional portion of the IPO was 2.11 times covered which was well below the traditional subscription rates of Hong Kong IPOs.