Shares of Weibo open 6% lower in Hong Kong
On Wednesday, the Chinese social media platform Weibo shares opened 6% lower in Hong Kong in their trading debut.
Shares opened at 256.21 Hong Kong dollars ($32.86) compared to an offer value of 272.81 Hong Kong dollars ($34.97). At one point, the value dropped as low as 253.21 Hong Kong dollars.
It is a secondary listing for Weibo, which raised approximately $386 million.
The main listing is in the U.S. on the Nasdaq, where the stock raised 4.68% overnight.
Last week, Weibo’s secondary listing came after Didi (Chinese ride-hailing giant) announced it would make plans to list in Hong Kong after delisting from the New York Stock Exchange.
Chinese regulators seemed unhappy with Didi’s decision when listed in the U.S. without fixing major cybersecurity problems. According to reports, regulators told the company’s executives to develop a plan to delist from the U.S. because of the concerns about data leakage.
Didi owns a large volume of data on travel routes and users in China as it is the largest ride-hailing app in the country.
China’s tech crackdown
It has been a turbulent journey for China’s technology sector in the past year. Regulators squeezed their scrutiny on domestic internet businesses while Beijing maintained to force technological self-sufficiency.
This week, the SCMP published that the top policymaking body in China decided to leave antitrust out of its economic goals for the following year. Instead, it will be focusing on technological development.
According to the CEO of MegaTrust Investment, Qi Wang, China will continue its efforts in the near term to regulate big internet companies in the country. On Wednesday, he told CNBC that this situation would continue to happen for the next couple of years. He added that it is not over. But the worst crackdown for the big tech might be over in the short term.
