People who shop in a Chagee store in Shanghai, China, October 18, 2023.
Costfoto | Nurphoto | Getty images
The actions of the Chinese tea chain Chagee climbed 15% during its beginnings on the public market on Thursday, while the company plans an American launch despite trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.
The action, which is negotiated on the NASDAQ using the “Cha” ticker, opened $ 33.75 per share. Chagee’s actions increased 49% at the start, but lost a large part of these gains during the afternoon trading.
On Wednesday, the company estimated its initial public offer at $ 28 per share, at the top of its expected range from $ 26 to $ 28. Chagee sold 14.7 million shares, collected $ 411 million and evaluating the company at around $ 5 billion.
Since its foundation in 2017, the company has increased to more than 6,400 tea salons across China, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Last year, Chagee generated a net profit of $ 344.5 million against a turnover of $ 1.7 billion, according to regulatory documents.
The company is preparing to open its first American location later this spring at the Westfield Century City Mall in Los Angeles.
The founder and CEO Junjie Zhang created the channel after being inspired by the success of international coffee companies. China is Starbucks’ Second larger market.
The initial public offer of Chagee follows several weeks of market troubles after President Donald Trump imposed new prices and ignited a trade war with China. Other hopes for Introduction on the stock market, including Klarna and Stubhub, have delayed their plans to make public after the markets plunged.
In recent years, it has also become less popular for Chinese companies to list on American exchanges. From January 2023 to January 2024, the number of Chinese companies listed on the three largest American scholarships fell 5%, according to the US economic revision and security commission.