(Yicai Global) Dec. 11 -- Shares of wildly-popular Chinese toy retailer Pop Mart International Group staged an explosive initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange today.

At 11.20 a.m., the Beijing-based retailer [HKG:09992] traded at HKD70.10, up 82.08 percent after its price jumped more than 100 percent from its IPO price of HKD38.50 (USD4.97) earlier this morning.

Pop Mart, which sells blind box toys via vending machines, has bagged net proceeds of HKD5.03 billion (USD649 million) from its Hong Kong listing.

Formed in 2010, Pop Mart has built a growing business out of a Japanese phenomenon that allows buyers to collect cute figurines by buying mystery, pig-in-a-poke packages. The Chinese firm's products are available in 140 locations in over 60 Chinese cities.

The IPO take will go to enhance Pop Mart’s consumer contact channels and digital business and intellectual property, as well as to expand overseas. The firm is also looking into potential acquisitions.

The company completed eight rounds of financing before the Hong Kong IPO, giving it a total USD2.5 billion valuation, according to corporate information platform Tianyancha. Its investors include QF Capital, Huaqiang Capital, BA Capital, Jinhuifeng Investment, Loyal Valley Capital and Huaxing Growth Capital.

Business has been good despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Pop Mart boosted its net profit by 25 percent to CNY141 million (USD21.5 million) on the year in the first half. Its net profit surged almost 300 times from 2017 to 2019. The company's revenue was CNY817 million in the first half.

Morgan Stanley and Citic Securities are the joint sponsors on the share issuance.

Editor: Ben Armour