Chinese jeweler Laopu Gold becomes Hong Kong's highest-priced stock after 2,300% surge
The stock has soared more than 2,300% since its listing in late June 2024, outperforming more than 500 peers in the Hang Seng Composite Index during the period. At HK$1,000 per share on Thursday, it far surpasses the second-most expensive stock in the financial hub: bubble tea maker Mixue Group, which is trading at just above HK$600.
While Laopu's sharp rise highlights investor enthusiasm for a new wave of Chinese consumption stocks tailored to Gen Z preferences, its steep price point could pose a barrier to retail participation. With the company's minimum trading unit set at 100 shares, investors must commit at least HK$100,000—the equivalent of $12,750—to gain exposure to the stock.
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 jewelry maker's remarkable rally will face its first meaningful test as it approaches the first 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 above HK$600. Zai Lab Ltd. divided each share into 10 in 2022, lowering the price to around HK$35.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fashion Network
9 hours ago
- Fashion Network
US, China to resume tariff talks in effort to extend truce
The Stockholm talks, led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, come right on the heels of Trump's biggest trade deal yet, with the European Union accepting a 15% tariff on its goods exports to the U.S. and agreeing to make significant EU purchases of U.S. energy and military equipment. That deal struck with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday in Scotland also calls for $600 billion in investments in the U.S. by the EU, Trump told reporters. No similar breakthrough is expected in the U.S.-China talks, but trade analysts said that another 90-day extension of a tariff and export control truce struck in mid-May was likely. An extension of that length would prevent further escalation and help create conditions for a potential meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in late October or early November. Spokespersons for the White House and U.S. Trade Representative's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on a South China Morning Post report quoting unnamed sources as saying the two sides would refrain from introducing new tariffs or take other steps that could escalate the trade war for another 90 days. Trump's administration is poised to impose new sectoral tariffs that will impact China, including on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, ship-to-shore cranes and other products. "We're very close to a deal with China. We really sort of made a deal with China, but we'll see how that goes," Trump told reporters before his meeting with von der Leyen, providing no further details. Previous U.S.-China trade talks in Geneva and London in May and June focused on bringing U.S. and Chinese retaliatory tariffs down from triple-digit levels and restoring the flow of rare earth minerals halted by China and Nvidia's H20 AI chips and other goods halted by the United States. So far, the talks have not delved into broader economic issues. They include U.S. complaints that China's state-led, export-driven model is flooding world markets with cheap goods, and Beijing's complaints that U.S. national security export controls on tech goods seek to stunt Chinese growth. "Stockholm will be the first meaningful round of U.S.-China trade talks," said Bo Zhengyuan, Shanghai-based partner at China consultancy firm Plenum. Trump has been successful in pressuring some other trading partners, including Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines, into deals accepting higher U.S. tariffs of 15% to 20%. Analysts say the U.S.-China negotiations are far more complex and will require more time. China's grip on the global market for rare earth minerals and magnets, used in everything from military hardware to car windshield wiper motors, has proved to be an effective leverage point on U.S. industries. In the background of the talks is speculation about a possible meeting between Trump and Xi in late October. Trump has said he will decide soon whether to visit China in a landmark trip to address trade and security tensions. A new flare-up of tariffs and export controls would likely derail any plans for a meeting with Xi. "The Stockholm meeting is an opportunity to start laying the groundwork for a Trump visit to China," said Wendy Cutler, vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute. Bessent has already said he wants to work out an extension of the August 12 deadline to prevent tariffs snapping back to 145% on the U.S. side and 125% on the Chinese side. Still, China will likely request a reduction of multi-layered U.S. tariffs totaling 55% on most goods and further easing of U.S. high-tech export controls, analysts said. Beijing has argued that such purchases would help reduce the U.S. trade deficit with China, which reached $295.5 billion in 2024. China is currently facing a 20% tariff related to the U.S. fentanyl crisis, a 10% reciprocal tariff, and 25% duties on most industrial goods imposed during Trump's first term. Bessent has also said he would discuss with He the need for China to rebalance its economy away from exports toward domestic consumer demand. The shift would require China to put an end to a protracted property crisis and boost social safety nets to encourage household spending. Michael Froman, a former U.S. trade representative during Barack Obama 's administration, said such a shift has been a goal of U.S. policymakers for two decades. "Can we effectively use tariffs to get China to fundamentally change their economic strategy? That remains to be seen," said Froman, now president of the Council on Foreign Relations think tank.
Fashion Network
10 hours ago
- Fashion Network
US, China to resume tariff talks in effort to extend truce
The Stockholm talks, led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, come right on the heels of Trump's biggest trade deal yet, with the European Union accepting a 15% tariff on its goods exports to the U.S. and agreeing to make significant EU purchases of U.S. energy and military equipment. That deal struck with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday in Scotland also calls for $600 billion in investments in the U.S. by the EU, Trump told reporters. No similar breakthrough is expected in the U.S.-China talks, but trade analysts said that another 90-day extension of a tariff and export control truce struck in mid-May was likely. An extension of that length would prevent further escalation and help create conditions for a potential meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in late October or early November. Spokespersons for the White House and U.S. Trade Representative's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on a South China Morning Post report quoting unnamed sources as saying the two sides would refrain from introducing new tariffs or take other steps that could escalate the trade war for another 90 days. Trump's administration is poised to impose new sectoral tariffs that will impact China, including on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, ship-to-shore cranes and other products. "We're very close to a deal with China. We really sort of made a deal with China, but we'll see how that goes," Trump told reporters before his meeting with von der Leyen, providing no further details. Previous U.S.-China trade talks in Geneva and London in May and June focused on bringing U.S. and Chinese retaliatory tariffs down from triple-digit levels and restoring the flow of rare earth minerals halted by China and Nvidia's H20 AI chips and other goods halted by the United States. So far, the talks have not delved into broader economic issues. They include U.S. complaints that China's state-led, export-driven model is flooding world markets with cheap goods, and Beijing's complaints that U.S. national security export controls on tech goods seek to stunt Chinese growth. "Stockholm will be the first meaningful round of U.S.-China trade talks," said Bo Zhengyuan, Shanghai-based partner at China consultancy firm Plenum. Trump has been successful in pressuring some other trading partners, including Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines, into deals accepting higher U.S. tariffs of 15% to 20%. Analysts say the U.S.-China negotiations are far more complex and will require more time. China's grip on the global market for rare earth minerals and magnets, used in everything from military hardware to car windshield wiper motors, has proved to be an effective leverage point on U.S. industries. In the background of the talks is speculation about a possible meeting between Trump and Xi in late October. Trump has said he will decide soon whether to visit China in a landmark trip to address trade and security tensions. A new flare-up of tariffs and export controls would likely derail any plans for a meeting with Xi. "The Stockholm meeting is an opportunity to start laying the groundwork for a Trump visit to China," said Wendy Cutler, vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute. Bessent has already said he wants to work out an extension of the August 12 deadline to prevent tariffs snapping back to 145% on the U.S. side and 125% on the Chinese side. Still, China will likely request a reduction of multi-layered U.S. tariffs totaling 55% on most goods and further easing of U.S. high-tech export controls, analysts said. Beijing has argued that such purchases would help reduce the U.S. trade deficit with China, which reached $295.5 billion in 2024. China is currently facing a 20% tariff related to the U.S. fentanyl crisis, a 10% reciprocal tariff, and 25% duties on most industrial goods imposed during Trump's first term. Bessent has also said he would discuss with He the need for China to rebalance its economy away from exports toward domestic consumer demand. The shift would require China to put an end to a protracted property crisis and boost social safety nets to encourage household spending. Michael Froman, a former U.S. trade representative during Barack Obama 's administration, said such a shift has been a goal of U.S. policymakers for two decades. "Can we effectively use tariffs to get China to fundamentally change their economic strategy? That remains to be seen," said Froman, now president of the Council on Foreign Relations think tank.
LeMonde
2 days ago
- LeMonde
Cognac drags down LVMH's spirits division
The engine driving cognac sales has yet to regain full speed. LVMH acknowledged it in its half-year results, published Thursday, July 24. Moët Hennessy, its wine and spirits division – of which British company Diageo owns 34% – reported an 8% drop in revenue to €2.58 billion. This marks a further slide after an 11% decline over 2024, to €5.9 billion. The blow was even harsher for recurring operating profit, which fell by one-third to €524 million in the first six months of 2025. The group, led by Bernard Arnault, explained the disappointing performance due to "weak demand for cognac" and "the impact on customers of trade tensions weighing on key markets in the US and China." The US and China accounted for 80% of sales of the prized Charente region spirit, whose leading brand is Hennessy. Across the Atlantic, LVMH – and major competitors such as Pernod Ricard, owner of Martell, or Rémy Cointreau, known for its Rémy Martin brand – were caught off guard. After the post-Covid-19 boom, the wave of inflation disrupted consumer behavior. They suddenly became more cautious about spending just as spirits groups continued to raise their prices. The drop-off was abrupt. Chinese customers also adopted a wait-and-see attitude, troubled by their country's economic slowdown. After trade battles On top of this new consumer mindset, fierce trade battles compounded the problem. Since early 2024, cognac has been ensnared in a conflict between Europe and China. The sector breathed a sigh of relief in early July. Although Beijing decided to impose 32% tariffs on European wine-based spirits, most companies that agreed to set a minimum price – in effect, a price increase ranging from 12% to 16% – were granted exemptions. LVMH benefited from this agreement. Likewise, Rémy Cointreau revised down the impact of Chinese tariffs on Friday, July 25, from €40 million to €10 million. Conversely, the impact in the US would rise from €25 million to €35 million.
