Chinese Bottled Water Giant Nongfu Spring Soars in Hong Kong Debut, Founder Becomes China’s Richest Man

Shares of Chinese bottled water giant Nongfu Spring soared in their debut on the Hong Kong stock market Tuesday, boosting the fortunes of its founder Zhong Shanshan to instantly make him the richest man in China. 

The company saw its shares surge 85% to HK$39.8 from an initial public offering price of HK$21.5, allowing the company to raise around $1.1 billion.

"Natural water segment could grow faster than China's overall bottled water market,” said Kevin Kim, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “Nongfu Spring's products are focused on that category, which should help capitalize on Chinese consumers' rising awareness for health and wellbeing. This should help the company's sales growth outpace its peers.”

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