DOMESTIC social media giant Weibo Corp.’s shares debuted 7.18 percent below their issue price in Hong Kong yesterday.

The Hong Kong debut was in line with a fall in Weibo’s primary listing in New York after a torrid week for U.S.-listed Chinese mainland shares.

Weibo, which operates a Twitter-like microblogging service and counts Sina Corp. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. as major shareholders, raised net proceeds of HK$1.38 billion (US$177 million) in the offering.

The firm opened at HK$256.20 and dipped as low as HK$253 after pricing its shares a week ago at HK$272.80.

“The listing market in Hong Kong is very lukewarm right now,” said Dickie Wong, Kingston Securities executive director.

Weibo has been listed in the United States since late 2019. Its American depositary receipts on the Nasdaq have lost 18 percent this year.

The muted debut comes as a host of mainland firms are rushing to wrap up deals in Hong Kong, with firms in industries ranging from real estate to health care raising billions of dollars in combined proceeds.

Hong Kong and Shanghai’s STAR Market have attracted US$15.2 billion worth of secondary listings from U.S. listed Chinese firms so far this year, according to Refinitiv data.

“The moves are probably based on the increasing recognition that the U.S.-China decoupling will not stop and will proceed steadily,” said LightStream Research analyst Mio Kato, who publishes on Smartkarma.

“I would expect a continuous flow of listings from New York to Hong Kong over the next year or two.” (SD-Agencies)