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| - Shares in Chinese fintech firm Bairong plunged on their Hong Kong debut Wednesday, the city's latest tech listing to disappoint investors. The company raised $507 million in its initial public offering but closed 16 percent lower on its first day trading, in what Bloomberg News said was the worst major debut in Hong Kong in three years. Over the past 18 months Hong Kong has seen a flurry of Chinese tech firms hold IPOs in the city, part of a drive to list closer to home as relations between Beijing and Washington sour. But some recent listings have fallen flat. On Monday, Chinese video streaming site Bilibili said its share price dipped six percent on its Hong Kong debut while search engine Baidu, also listed this month, is currently trading around 15 percent lower than its initial price. US-China tensions remain at the forefront of investor jitters. American regulators recently announced plans to force Chinese firms to adhere more strictly to its auditing rules, sparking concerns over potential delistings in the US and a global sell-off of Chinese tech shares. Chinese authorities have also sought to rein in the power amassed by major huge domestic tech giants like Alibaba and Tencent. Last year Beijing torpedoed Alibaba's plans for a gargantuan Hong Kong listing for its fintech giant Ant Financial. "The sentiment for IPOs has cooled down a lot after the recent correction," Kenny Wen, a strategist at Everbright Sun Hung Kai, told Bloomberg. "Although Bairong is doing cloud-related business, lots of its revenue comes from peer-to-peer, a gray area that's likely to face more government crackdown. Investors no doubt will be very cautious." jta/oho
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