Chinese wealth management firm Puyi debuts on Nasdaq

NEW YORK - Puyi Inc, a Chinese third-party wealth management services firm, had its trading debut on Friday, after it completed the initial public offering (IPO) of its American Deposit shares (ADSs) on Wednesday.

Puyi has been listed on the NASDAQ Global Market under the ticker symbol of PUYI. Shares of Puyi soared more than 13 percent around market close at its first trading day.

An ADS is a US dollar-denominated equity share of a foreign-based company for purchase on a US stock exchange.

At a price of $6 per ADS, the company has raised around $25.75 million through offering more than 4.29 million ADSs, Puyi said in a public statement.

Network 1 Financial Securities Inc acted as the underwriter, and Valuable Capital Limited acted as the selected dealer for the offering.

The company noted it would use the IPO proceeds primarily for expanding branch network, upgrading IT infrastructure, as well as seeking more capital through launching additional funds, and making fund investments and acquisitions.

Puyi, headquartered in Guangzhou, capital city of southern China's Guangdong province, focuses on China's mass affluent and emerging middle class population. It also provides corporate financing services and asset management services.

The company first filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for an IPO on Nov 21, 2018, and filed its latest prospectus on March 19.

For the year ended June 30, 2018, Puyi saw its net revenues rose to approximately $25.1 million, a marked increase from the same period of the previous year, thanks to stronger corporate finance services and asset management services, according to the latest prospectus.