TOKYO (Reuters) – Shares in JX Advanced Metals rose 6.6% in their debut in Tokyo on Wednesday after Japan’s largest initial public offering since 2018.
Shares closed at 874 yen ($5.84), compared to the IPO price of 820 yen per share. The benchmark index was up 0.5%.
The IPO of the metals unit of Eneos raised $2.97 billion last week. Japan’s largest oil refiner retains a 42.4% stake.
That makes it the largest IPO in Japan since the flotation of SoftBank Group’s telecoms unit in December 2018, exceeding the Tokyo Metro IPO of last October, LSEG data showed.
JX Advanced Metals is a leading manufacturer of sputtering targets, which are materials used to create thin metal films during chip production.
“Both the initial and closing prices, despite the unfavourable market environment, show we are highly regarded,” the company’s President Yoichi Hayashi told a news conference after the market closed.
Since 2019, the company has shifted its focus from mining and smelting to materials used in smartphones, cars, and telecommunications infrastructure, following hefty losses from the Caserones copper mine in Chile.
“Our shareholders invested in us with high expectations for our growth story. We are committed to meeting their expectations through business growth and will strive to deliver returns that align with those expectations,” Hayashi said.
($1 = 149.6800 yen)
(Reporting by Sam Nussey; Additional reporting by Yuka Obayashi. Editing by Janane Venkatraman, Jan Harvey and Mark Potter)
