Purchasing people in a Cheagee store in Shanghai, China, on October 18, 2023.
Costfoto | Nurphoto | Getty images
The shares of the Chinese tea chain Cheagee rose 15% during their public market debut on Thursday, since the company plans an American launch despite commercial tensions between Washington and Beijing.
The action, which is quoted in the Nasdaq using the “cha” ticket, opened to $ 33.75 per share. Cheagee’s actions shot up to 49% initially, but lost much of those profits during the afternoon negotiation.
The company set its initial public offer of $ 28 per share on Wednesday, at the upper end of its expected range of $ 26 to $ 28. Cheagee sold 14.7 million shares, raising $ 411 million and valuing the company at approximately $ 5 billion.
Since its foundation in 2017, the company has grown to more than 6,400 tea houses in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Last year, Cheagee generated a net income of $ 344.5 million from revenues of $ 1.7 billion, according to regulatory presentations.
The company is preparing to open its first location in the United States at the end of this spring at Westfield Century City Mall in Los Angeles.
Founder and CEO Junjie Zhang created the chain after being inspired by the success of international coffee companies. China is Starbucks’ The second largest market.
Cheagee’s initial public offer follows several weeks of market agitation after President Donald Trump imposed new tariffs and lit a commercial war with China. Other candidates for OPI, including Klarna and Stubhub, delayed their plans to go over after the markets sank.
In recent years, it has also become less popular for Chinese companies to be listed in US exchanges. From January 2023 to January 2024, the number of Chinese companies that appear in the three largest US exchanges fell by 5%, according to the US-China Economic and Security Commission.
