Deals
Xiaomi's Ill-Timed Debut Sows Doubt About Internet Ambitions
- Smartphone maker’s debut saw shares decline in Hong Kong
- Billionaire Lei’s company will operate under intense scrutiny
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Xiaomi Corp.’s market debut has failed to convince investors that it’s capable of shedding a reliance on cheap phones and becoming an internet giant. The Chinese smartphone giant now faces intense scrutiny while it tries to prove it should be twice as expensive as Apple Inc.
After raising $4.7 billion in an initial public offering selling stock at the bottom of its marketed range, the first day of trade saw the shares slide as much as 6 percent in Hong Kong. The IPO had been touted as the culmination of a remarkable turnaround and the starting gun for a clutch of mega debuts but it came amid sliding markets and an escalating trade spat between the U.S. and China.