Distributor China Film soars 44 percent in trading debut

China Film Co Ltd, China's largest movie distributor, saw a rise of 44 percent in its stock prices on its first trading day on Tuesday, after the company held the biggest initial public offering in China's entertainment industry.

The Shanghai-listed stock, with an offering price of 8.92 yuan ($1.34), opened at 10.7 yuan on Tuesday morning. It soon reached the daily limit and closed at 12.84 yuan, valuing the company at 24 billion yuan.

Established in 2010, China Film is the distribution unit of the State-owned China Film Group Corporation, and the latter attempted to go public in Hong Kong as early as 2004. However, the plan was suspended due to the change in China's policies at the time, which prohibited overseas capital from investing in the film industry in the mainland market.