While Laopu’s ascent underscores investor zeal toward a cohort of China’s new consumption stocks catering to Gen Z demand, its lofty price tag may deter retail purchases. With a minimum trading unit set at 100 shares by the company, it means an investor must shell out HK$100,000 — the equivalent of $12,750 — to gain exposure to Laopu.
Companies listed in Hong Kong can set their own minimum trading units — known as a “board lot” — ranging from dozens to thousands of shares. While investors can place orders for odd lots, including a single share, through brokerages, these transactions typically take longer to match and can incur higher fees.Bloomberg reported in March that the financial hub’s exchange was discussing options to lower the threshold for investors to buy some of the most expensive stocks to boost trading activity.
The retail portion of Laopu’s initial public offering was nearly 600 times oversubscribed, prompting the company to increase the number of shares allocated to individual investors by six times to 11.2 million.
The jewellery maker’s remarkable rally will face its first meaningful test as it approaches the one-year anniversary of its debut on June 27, when a lockup on 121.4 million shares will expire. That’s more than double the current number of free-float shares. The stock posted its worst weekly drop since its listing in December last year, just before the expiry of a six-month lockup on 10.8 million shares.
Laopu has yet to indicate any plans for a stock split, a common strategy taken by high-flying firms to cheapen the value of each share and make it more affordable. Tencent Holdings Ltd. performed a 5-for-1 split in 2014, shortly after share prices peaked at above HK$600. Zai Lab Ltd. divided each share into 10 in 2022, lowering the price to around HK$35.
