Wuhan-based Bestore Livestreams IPO in Shanghai
Bestore, a high-end snack store chain headquartered in Wuhan, listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on February 24. The company became the only Hubei-based firm complete an IPO during the COVID-19 outbreak. At 9:30 in the morning, Bestore’s stock went for 17.14 yuan per share, setting its market cap at 6.87 billion yuan.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange announced that in order to provide a comprehensive response to the coronavirus epidemic it will hold “Internet listing ceremonies” for all companies planning to list in the foreseeable future.
The Bestore IPO is the first time in the history of the Shanghai Stock Exchange that a listing took place online instead of a trading hall. However, the online event retained the ceremony of a traditional listing.
SEE ALSO: China IPO Watch: Huize Holdings – Online Insurance Platform
Additionally, the Shanghai Stock Exchange introduced a series of crisis support measures for companies including slashed listing fees and remote personnel assistance.
Bestore, known as Liangpin Puzi in Chinese, is a brand of high-quality snack stores integrating digital supply chain management and omni-channel sales system technologies in its operations. The company’s prospectus shows that from January to September 2019, Bestore reached operating income of 5.46 billion yuan, which is an increase of 19.65% over 4.563 billion yuan in the same period of 2018.
