Android device maker Xiaomi held an underwhelming initial public offering in Hong Kong earlier today, having debuted on the local stock exchange at the equivalent of $2.12 (USD) per share, with its stock remaining mostly unchanged following the first day of trading, though dropping as low as $2.04 at one point. That performance was below the low end of the expectations spectrum, leaving the company with a valuation of under $45 billion, a far cry from the $80 billion figure it previously said was being targeted. The Beijing-based startup even lowered its original IPO goals from $100 billion and was likely right to do so given the lukewarm response it received from investors in China, despite garnering significant interest from the richest individuals and most successful entrepreneurs in the Far Eastern country.
Prior to its Monday debut on the public market, Xiaomi targeted a price in the range of $2.17 and $2.80 per share. While its mainland China listing of depositary receipts is currently on hold due to regulatory problems and will likely contribute to its financing efforts in a notable manner once it’s executed, the firm still fell short of all internal and external expectations, raising the equivalent of $3.05 billion, about half of what it first sought. Xiaomi co-founder and President Lin Bin said the consumer electronics manufacturer isn’t discouraged by the development and was meaning to focus on long-term growth regardless of the outcome of its IPO.
The OEM is hence likely to continue pursuing aggressive overseas expansion plans moving forward so as to make investors more optimistic about its overall prospects. The United States will be a large focus of those ambitions, with recent reports and the firm’s own statements indicating Xiaomi may bring more products to the world’s largest flagship market as early as 2019. The electronics maker is likely to push for retail deals with stateside wireless carriers prior to launching any smartphones in the country and is hoping that its close relationship with Google and Qualcomm will help it avoid major regulatory scrutiny from Washington which has been causing problems for Huawei and ZTE over the last fifteen years.