Xiaomi Corp. surged more than 10 percent a day after its disappointing debut, as investors began to pile into the world
BEIJING: Xiaomi Corp. surged more than 10 percent a day after its disappointing debut, as investors began to pile into the world’s third-largest listed smartphone maker.
The Chinese company surged to a high of HK$18.56, well above its HK$17 initial public offering price. About 280 million shares changed hands before the lunch break, versus 462 million shares on Monday.
The rebound more than made up for the worst first-day performance by a $1 billion-plus Hong Kong IPO since 2015. In the long run, Xiaomi needs to convince investors that it’s capable of shedding a reliance on cheap phones and becoming an internet giant.
The company now faces intense scrutiny while it tries to prove it should be twice as expensive as Apple Inc.
It’ll need to show in future financial results that it can squeeze more profit from non-smartphone businesses from rice-cookers and scooters and online content and adverstising.
Xiaomi had priced its IPO at earnings multiples higher than more established tech giants, including Apple, Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Facebook Inc., arguing it was an internet services company even as most of its revenue came from hardware.
It then suffered a number of setbacks, from being forced to jettison plans to sell Chinese depositary receipts in Shanghai to the onset of global trade tensions. - Bloomberg
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