The parent company of Sagawa Express Co., a major Japanese parcel delivery service, made a strong debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Wednesday in the country's biggest initial public offering this year.
Shares in SG Holdings Co. opened at 1,900 yen ($16.74) on the First Section of the Tokyo bourse, compared with the IPO price of 1,620 yen, bringing the company's value to 608.3 billion yen. SG Holdings ended the day at 1,906 yen.
Its market capitalization based on the opening price sharply exceeds that of Sushiro Global Holdings Ltd., which was valued at 94.1 billion yen when it relisted on the bourse in March.
SG Holdings plans to utilize the funds raised to set up a distribution facility in Tokyo. The company is also aiming to expand its business in Asia following its acquisitions of distribution companies in Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
With Sagawa Express holding the second largest share of Japan's parcel delivery market at some 30 percent after the industry leader Yamato Transport Co., SG Holdings racked up 930.3 billion yen of group operating revenue in the year that ended in March.
Japan's benchmark stock index Nikkei finished Wednesday's trading 108.10 points, or 0.47 percent, down from Tuesday at 22,758.07.
