FAST NEWS: J&T Global stands still in IPO trading debut

The latest: Shares of Chinese logistics provider J&T Global Express Ltd. (1519.HK) opened at HK$12 in their Friday trading debut, unchanged from their IPO price.

Looking up: The local portion of the company’s IPO in Hong Kong was only oversubscribed by about 36%. But reception for the international allotment was more enthusiastic, with that portion oversubscribed by 91%.

Take Note: J&T raised HK$3.53 billion ($450 million) in net proceeds from the share sale, lower than the HK$7.8 billion it was reportedly targeting in May.

Digging Deeper: Founded in 2015, J&T became known as a disruptor in China’s express delivery industry after it touched off a price war by offering to ship packages for as little as 0.8 yuan per parcel in 2021. The company went through nine rounds of financing before its IPO, with Tencent (0700.HK), Boyu Capital, Hillhouse Capital, Sequoia Capital and CMB International as some of its backers. It even found a fan among its rivals, winning over SF Express (002352.SZ) as an investor. But its operating costs have been higher than its revenue for the past three years, resulting in gross losses.

Market Reaction: J&T spent most of Friday morning below its IPO price and closed at HK$12 at the midday break, unchanged from its IPO price.

Translation by A. Au

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