initial public offerings

Nongfu’s Hong Kong stock debut shoots founder up the China rich ranks

Agence France-Presse

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Nongfu’s Hong Kong stock debut shoots founder up the China rich ranks

STOCK EXCHANGE. This general view shows the flag (L) of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong flying next to the Chinese national flag (C) and the Hong Kong SAR flag (R), outside the exchange offices in the Central district of Hong Kong on September 11, 2019. File photo by Nicolas Asfouri/AFP

AFP

Zhong Shanshan, founder of bottled water giant Nongfu Spring, becomes China's second wealthiest person after an initial public offering that was oversubscribed by more than 1,100 times

Nongfu Spring founder Zhong Shanshan became China’s second richest man in an instant on Tuesday, September 8, after his water bottling company’s spectacular debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Shares in the company – which claims to be number one in China’s massive bottled water market – surged 85% at the bell after an initial public offering (IPO) that was oversubscribed by more than 1,100 times.

It opened at HK$39.80 (US$5.14) – compared with its introductory price of HK$21.50 – before finishing its first day of trading at HK$33.10.

The surge pushed the fortune of founder Zhong to more than $51 billion, making him the second wealthiest person in China after Alibaba’s Jack Ma, according to Bloomberg News.

Zhong founded the company in 1996 and now owns 84% of it. 

His fortune, according to Bloomberg, was boosted in April when Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise Company – in which he is the biggest shareholder – went public in a Shanghai IPO.

Nongfu Spring, based in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, supplies mineral water, while most of its competitors sell purified water.

Its products are ubiquitous across the country, where most people shun tap water for health reasons.

The brand holds about a quarter of the bottled water market in China, according to London-based research firm Mintel. – Rappler.com

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