A sign outside the Serbia Zijin Mining complex, operated by Zijin Mining Group Co., in Bor, Serbia, on Thursday Aug. 24, 2023.
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Zijin Gold shares surged over 60% Tuesday as the Chinese miner made its trading debut in Hong Kong following a strong initial public offering.
The company had raised nearly 25 billion Hong Kong dollars (about $3.2 billion) with shares priced at HKD$71.59 apiece, making it the world’s second-largest IPO after battery giant CATL’s listing earlier this year.
Zijin Gold’s debut, which was delayed by a day due to the impact of Super Typhoon Ragasa on Hong Kong last week, comes at a time when the yellow metal has been notching record highs amid strong safe-haven demand, expectations of rate cuts, and global economic uncertainty.
Gold prices have been picking up steam in recent weeks, which was “good timing” for Zijin Gold, said Theodore Shou, chief investment officer at Skybound Capital. Spot gold hit a fresh all-time high of $3,839.19 per ounce on Tuesday.
“That excitement around gold is now spread across the gold miners, which is helping them to achieve great valuation,” he said.
Zijin Gold’s listing builds on a resurgence in Hong Kong’s IPO market this year that has collectively raised about $14.1 billion in the first half of this year, a 695% year-on-year increase from the same period in 2024.
The company is the overseas gold-mining arm of China’s partially state-owned Zijin Mining that operates all of the group’s gold mines outside of China. Major investors in its IPO included Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, Hillhouse’s HHLRA and BlackRock Funds.
Zijin Mining, the largest producer of mined gold in China, had announced in April that it would carve out its overseas gold operations into the new Zijin Gold unit as part of a wider restructuring aimed at sharpening its focus on gold.
The group’s global footprint spans Central Asia, South America, Oceania and Africa. It engages in the full value chain of gold mining, from exploration and development to processing, smelting, refining, and sales.
In 2024, Zijin Mining produced 1.3 million ounces (40.4 tonnes) of gold, ranking it ninth globally in reserves, according to the company’s estimates.