Lenovo parent raises nearly $2bn in Hong Kong IPO

Legend Holdings, the parent company of the world's largest PC maker Lenovo, raised nearly 2 billion U.S. dollars in an initial public offering (IPO) on Monday in Hong Kong.

Witnessed by dozens of cornerstone investors and the company's management, Legend Holdings' chairman Liu Chuanzhi hit the gong during the debut of the company at Hong Kong Exchanges, opening the share price at 43.15 Hong Kong dollars (5.57 U.S. dollars), 0. 4 percent higher than its offering price.

In its first trading day, Legend Holdings (stock code 3396) went up and down between 43.55 Hong Kong dollars and 42.85 Hong Kong dollars with a turnover of 2.7 billion Hong Kong dollars and a market value of 16.7 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 2.1 billion U.S. dollars).

According to Legend Holdings' plan, it will spend about 55 percent to 60 percent of the raised fund in strategic investment to support new purchase and current businesses which covers six major sectors: information technology (IT), financial service, modern service, real estate, agriculture, chemical and energy.

"Today I am very excited but calm at the same time," said Liu at the IPO ceremony. "I'm feeling excited because the IPO means a new milestone for Legend, and calm because we pay more attention to the company's long-term performance rather than its price's ups and downs today."

Liu pledged that Legend Holdings will continue to prioritize shareholders' interests and build a centennial company of global influence which has leading sub-entities in multiple industries.

Before Monday's debut, Legend Holdings secured 950-million-U.S.- dollar-worth commitments from 24 cornerstone investors, including Hong Kong tycoons and Chinese mainland investors. Liu specially appreciated the cornerstone investors' long-term trust to his company.

Zhu Linan, president of Legend Holdings, said the company will focus its investment in consumer, service and finance sectors. Liu believed that medical service and education will have huge potential in China's future economic growth thanks to China's mid- class population and government's policy.

Legend Holdings was established in 1984 by Liu Chuanzhi and 10 other researchers with 200,000 yuan from the government think tank Chinese Academy of Sciences. After 31-year development, Legend Holdings has become a comprehensive investment holding company with a revenue of more than 46.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2014. Enditem