SINO COMMERCE GIANT JD.com RISES 6% IN HK DEBUT

Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com leapt nearly six percent on its Hong Kong debut on Thursday, June 18, 2020, after raising almost $4 billion in an initial public offering that was the world's second biggest this year, the Agence France Presse (AFP) reported.

The firm, which listed on the Nasdaq in New York in 2014, opened at HK$239 in early morning trading in Hong Kong, compared with its listing price of HK$226. JD.com’s debut comes as Chinese companies -- especially those in tech -- eschew Wall Street because of rising tensions between Washington and Beijing. The JD.com IPO is the second-largest globally this year after Beijing-Shanghai High Speed Railway raised $4.3 billion in January, according to Bloomberg News.

The crash of once-booming coffee chain Luckin Coffee Inc following an accounting scandal has also increased concerns among overseas investors about the transparency and reliability of some Chinese companies. New York's loss has been Hong Kong's gain, however.

Fellow Chinese tech giant NetEase raised $2.7 billion in the city earlier this month, capping a frenetic few weeks on the stock exchange despite swirling fears over Beijing's plan to impose a national security law on the finance hub. NetEase saw a similar six-percent gain on its first day of trading. "We have come to Hong Kong not just because we want to share our promise and development with more clients... but because we have absolute confidence in China and the future of China's economy," JD's Retail Chief Executive Officer Xu Lei said at the opening ceremony.