Hong Kong — Meituan Dianping rose 5% on debut in Hong Kong on Thursday, valuing the Chinese online food delivery-to-ticketing services firm at about $55bn and sending a positive signal to companies lining up to list in the financial hub. The stock’s performance is being seen as a test of investor appetite for Hong Kong listings against a backdrop of weak markets and multi-billion dollar initial public offerings (IPOs) that have struggled to rise above their issue price, such as smartphone maker Xiaomi and China Tower. The strong debut also reflects investor confidence that loss-making Meituan can fend off bruising competition from food-delivery platform Ele.me, which is backed by China's biggest e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding. Both have been offering heavy discounts to win new customers and market share. Shares of Meituan, which counts China’s biggest gaming and social media firm Tencent Holdings as a key investor, closed at HK$72.65 ($9.26) compared with its IPO price of ...
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