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RLX Tech valued at $ 35 billion after successful New York Stock Exchange launch sees share price double in value
Words : Patrick Griffin
C hinese e-cigarette company RLX Technology saw its share price leap by 145 percent on its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange . It sold its shares at $ 12 each in the US IPO – higher than the target price range of $ 8- 10 – as demand for the start-up was high . On its first full day of trading , it opened at $ 22.34 – 86 percent higher than the initial IPO price – reflecting many analysts views that vape industry is in a strong position with the potential for huge growth . At the closing bell the share price had leapt to $ 29 per share to give it a market capitalisation of more than $ 35 billion . RLX Technology is the company behind the hugely popular RELX brand which invests heavily in state-of-the-art technology to produce devices and flavours that adult vapers enjoy .
The Beijing-based vape company has become China ’ s largest e-cigarette maker after being founded in 2018 and has marketed its devices both in China and worldwide . It had earlier planned to make the IPO on the Hong Kong exchange but opted to switch to the US after deciding it was a better fit . The move follows the July 2020 Hong Kong Stock Exchange listing of Shenzhen-based Smoore International , whose brands include Vaporesso , FEELM and CCELL . Smoore became the first e-cigarette company to be listed on the Hong Kong exchange and these listings show that there is considerable confidence in the vape sector as more and more smokers around the world quit cigarettes . According to data compiled by Bloomberg US Exchanges , just under $ 15 billion was raised by Chinese IPOs on American exchanges last year , making it the second highest amount on record . According to its prospectus , RLX has a 62.6 percent share of the Chinese market for closed pod devices in terms of retail sales . It works with 110 authorized distributors to supply its products to over 5,000 RELX branded partner stores , and over 100,000 other retail outlets nationwide , covering over 250 cities domestically . RLX made $ 400 million in sales for the 12 months ended September 30 , 2020 and almost doubled its revenue in the first nine months of 2020 to $ 324 million , with net income of $ 16 million .
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