CK Infrastructure jumps on London Stock Exchange debut as rules shake-up pays off

CK Infrastructure Holdings (CKI) bounced on its London debut yesterday as the Hong Kong investor became the first company to list its shares on the London Stock Exchange following a sweeping overhaul of listing rules in July.

Shares in CKI, one of the world’s largest infrastructure groups, have risen about 2.8 per cent to trade at around 580p on the London Stock Exchange’s main market.

Announcing the plans in July, CK Infrastructure —which is backed by Hong Kong tycoon Vikto Li—said the move was designed to broaden its investor base internationally. The group has its main listing on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and a market capitalisation of around £13.9bn.

The secondary listing marks the first for London’s bourse since the Financial Conduct Authority introduced sweeping changes to listing rules at the end of July. 

Under the changes, regulators carved out a new category for secondary listings to attract more international firms with a primary listing overseas.

The changes have been drawn up in an attempt to revive the appeal of the UK’s capital market rules after a drop-off in fresh listings over the past two years.

Andrew Hunter, deputy managing director of CKI, said the listing would “enhance” the company’s reputation and tap in to a “larger capital base of international investors”. 

“It will also create an opportunity for UK investors to invest in an international infrastructure portfolio, including well-known utilities in the UK, on their local stock exchange”, Hunter added.

The London Stock Exchange’s deputy chief, Charlie Walker, welcomed the move and said it would allow CKI to tap into “one of the deepest and broadest institutional investor pools in the world”.

However, trading was reportedly meagre on its first day on the market, with just £173,000 shares traded on the first day, Bloomberg reported.