Shares of the China National Nuclear Power Co Ltd (CNNPC), affiliated to one of the country's two State nuclear reactor builders, surged by 44 percent — the cap for first-day trading — in its debut on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on June 10.

With an issue price of 3.39 yuan (55 US cents), CNNPC shares opened at 4.07 yuan and almost immediately soared to 4.88 yuan to meet the daily trading cap of 44 percent.

Issuing not more than 3.89 billion shares, the IPO raised 13.1 billion yuan (2.1 billion USD), according to the company’s prospectus, making it the largest listing in China in five years.

“The debut marks an important milestone in the history of our development,” said Yu Peigen, vice-chairman of CNNPC. “It serves as a new starting point for us and provides new incentives for our development. We will make consistent efforts to improve our operations and become a world leader with strong international competitiveness,” said Yu, who is also vice president of the China National Nuclear Corporation, the parent company of CNNPC.

Sun Qin, chairman of the China National Nuclear Corporation, and Jin Xingming, vice secretary-general of Shanghai, attended the ceremony marking CNNPC’s debut on June 10.

CNNPC deals with development, investment, construction, operation and management of nuclear projects. As a major investor domestic nuclear projects, it also engages in R & D of safe nuclear technologies and provides technical services and consultation in relevant fields. Now it has 12 nuclear units with a total installed capacity of 9.77 million kilowatts, with another 11 nuclear units with a total installed capacity of 11.59 million kilowatts under construction.

The CNNPC is the largest domestic operator in terms of installed nuclear capacity. Its assets exceed 230 billion yuan and it has nearly 10,000 employees, the company said.