Online travel firm Tuniu raises $72m from Nasdaq IPO

Tuniu Corp, a Chinese online leisure travel company launched an IPO Friday (US time) on the Nasdaq market in the US and raised about $72 million.

The company priced its IPO at $9 a share and sold 8 million shares. The stock, trading under the ticker "TOUR," closed at $10.07, 11.89 percent higher than its IPO price, and its market value reached $80.6 million, according to a statement from the company.

The company, based in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, said the funds raised will be mainly used to increase the number of departure locations and service centers, improve mobile services as well as research and development.

Donald Yu Dunde, co-founder and CEO of Tuniu, told Xinhua that China's tourism industry features rapid growth of overseas travel, transformation from PC to mobile devices, and higher expenditure in individual trips, areas in which Tuniu has developed expertise.

Alex Yan Haifeng, co-founder and chief operations officer of the company, said Tuniu had developed a chain connecting suppliers and retailers, which has significantly increased efficiency.

Tuniu offers a large selection of packaged tours, including organized and self-guided tours, as well as travel-related services.

Its services cover more than 70 countries and regions and most popular tourist attractions in China.

Although the US stock market has been in correction in recent months, an increasing number of China-based companies have launched public offerings in the market, reflecting US investors' strong interest in these companies, especially Internet companies.

Cheetah Mobile, a Chinese mobile Internet company, made its trading debut on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, while China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding also filed its IPO report in the US late Tuesday, in hope of raising $1 billion.

Before them, China's IT education provider Tarena International, privately held medical services provider iKang Healthcare Group, micro-blogging site Weibo and online real estate services firm Leju also got listed on the US stock markets earlier this year.