Chinese snack retailer Busy Ming Group Co surged in its Hong Kong trading debut after raising HK$3.67 billion ($470 million) in an offering.
The shares rose as much as 88 percent on Wednesday to HK$445.00, compared with an offer price of HK$236.60 apiece. Its 1.41 million shares allocated to retail investors in Hong Kong were 1,899.49 times subscribed.
Hong Kong’s market is off to a blockbuster start in 2026, with proceeds from new listings in January on course to be the highest ever for the first month of the calendar year, with deals by firms tied to artificial intelligence fueling activity.
In the consumer sector, pig breeder Muyuan Foods Co and energy-drink maker Eastroc Beverage Group Co are also set to list.
Busy Ming opened its first store in central China’s Changsha city in 2017. It had a network of 21,041 outlets covering most provinces in China, with about 59 percent of them located in counties and townships as of Nov 30, according to its prospectus.
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The company leverages a business model that cuts out middlemen to lower costs and cater to the consumer preference of value-for-money choices. Its products of biscuits, nuts and beverages are priced about 25 percent below average supermarket levels, according the prospectus.
The company reported a profit of 1.56 billion yuan ($224 million) for the nine months ending Sept 30, more than three times the amount a year earlier, its prospectus shows.
The initial public offering attracted a fleet of big-name institutions, including Tencent Holdings Ltd, Fidelity International Ltd and Temasek Holdings Pte as the cornerstone investors. It also counted BA Capital, a Shanghai-based firm which invested in homegrown jewelry brand Laopu Gold Co and Labubu-maker Pop Mart International Group Ltd, as an early backer.
