CHINESE music streaming firm Tencent Music Entertainment Group priced its U.S. initial public offering (IPO) at the low end of expectations, capping a rocky process of going public but still marking one of the biggest U.S.-listed debuts in recent years.

The music arm of gaming and social network giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. priced its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) at US$13 per share Tuesday afternoon, at the low end of its indicated US$13 to US$15 per share range. The offering raised roughly US$1.1 billion for the company and its selling shareholders.

The IPO values Tencent Music at US$21.3 billion and shows how companies are defying a bout of market volatility with listings.

Tencent Music sold 41 million ADRs, while existing shareholders sold a further 40.9 million.

Tencent Music’s IPO tops off a bumper year for U.S. listings by Chinese companies, with US$7.9 billion raised before Tencent Music’s debut, Refinitiv data showed.

That is the highest amount since 2014, the year of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s record US$25 billion IPO.

Tencent Music’s U.S. IPO is the fourth largest among Chinese firms this year by deal value. Video streaming company iQiyi Inc. leads with its US$2.4 billion listing, followed by online group discounter Pinduoduo Inc. at US$1.6 billion and electric vehicle maker NIO Inc. at US$1.15 billion.

Returns for investors have been mixed, with the 31 Chinese IPOs in 2018 down an average of around 11 percent as of Dec. 10, according to data provider Dealogic.

With streaming apps QQ Music, KuGou, Kuwo as well as karaoke app We Sing, Tencent Music is China’s largest online music platform. The firm is often compared with Spotify Technology SA but offers more socially interactive services that make it profitable while its Swedish counterpart is not.

Tencent Music initially planned to launch the deal in October but postponed because of a selloff in global markets roiled by a U.S.-China trade war and fears of slowing global growth.

Tencent Music reported a 244 percent profit jump for the January-September period to US$394 million. By comparison, Spotify lost a net US$520 million.

Tencent Music was created in mid-2016 after Tencent Holdings bought a controlling stake in China Music Corp. and combined it with Tencent’s existing streaming business. The company recently boasted more than 800 million total unique monthly active users. (SD-Agencies)