A Chinese information security firm soared 924% in its trading debut in Shanghai on Thursday to achieve the largest first-day leap in the history of China’s stock markets.
QuantumCTek, which develops quantum technology–based information products, reached $50.49 per share by the midday break, 876% up from its $5.18 issue price on Shanghai’s Star market board. By the end of the day, the stock had jumped 924% from the issue price.
The Star market launched in July 2019 and is known for its focus on science and technology companies. Unlike peer exchanges, it has no trading limits on a stock’s first days.
The tech firm’s debut broke a short-lived record set on Tuesday by Beijing-based Tinavi Medical Technologies, which debuted on the Star board with a 614% jump from its issue price.
QuantumCTek’s sky-high debut comes amid a hot streak for stock markets across China. Bullish state media reports have encouraged China’s investors, as has optimism about China’s economic recovery from the coronavirus.
The CSI 300 index, which includes the largest publicly listed companies on the exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen, jumped nearly 6% on Monday and has continued to make gains every day since. Chinese stocks have risen in value by more than $1 trillion this month alone.
Stocks in Hong Kong also made gains on Thursday. Shares in Hong Kong–listed Alibaba Group jumped 10%, the company’s biggest gain since it debuted in a secondary listing in Hong Kong in November.
QuantumCTek is the first quantum technology company to go public in China. It specializes in quantum key distribution, a type of communications technology for securely transmitting encryption keys that uses phenomena from quantum physics. Quantum communication is prized for its supposedly unhackable nature and is considered a much more secure form of communication than traditional encryption systems.
QuantumCTek, based in Hefei, in China’s Anhui province, filed for an initial public offering on the Shanghai Star exchange in March 2019 and gained final approval in June. It had aimed to raise $43 million from the listing.
