Movie ticketing app Maoyan opens flat on debut

It closed at $14.64 from an IPO of $14.8.

Reuters reported that Tencent-backed movie ticketing app Maoyan Entertainment saw its stock fall 1.1% fall on its Hong Kong debut on 4 February, joining the string of weak starts of Mainland tech firms listing in the SAR.

Maoyan Weying, which provides ticketing services through its Maoyan and Gewara apps, distributes Chinese-made films and lends assistance in marketing foreign firms in China, enjoys market leadership in the world’s second largest movie market. 

With the Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley as its joint sponsors for listing, shares of the firm opened at $14.82 from an initial public offering (IPO) of $14.8 before falling to $14 and closing at $14.64.

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“Whilst on one hand there’s a lack of demand for the name given the limited upside in the online movie ticketing market in terms of market penetration, on the other hand, the upcoming Chinese holiday season could be another contributing factor for the thin volume and the poor performance,” Ke Yan, co-head of research at Aequitas Research, said.

Also read: Hong Kong's hottest IPOs lose steam as returns fall short

The embattled movie ticketing app raised $1.96b (US$250m) in IPO, which is smaller than what it initially expected at it grapples with a challenging market environment characterised by the escalating US-China trade dispute and an ongoing slowdown in the world's second largest economy. In fact, roughly 75% of Hong Kong IPOs in 2018 are trading below their offer prices, data from Bloomberg show. 

Here's more from Reuters.