TOKYO :Shares of Tekscend Photomask climbed nearly 13 per cent in their Tokyo debut on Thursday, riding the wave of gains in Japan’s tech sector.
The photomask manufacturer, which produces masks used to transfer patterns onto semiconductor wafers, raised 138.9 billion yen ($920 million) by pricing its initial public offering at 3,000 yen per share, the top of the range.
Shares of Tekscend Photomask began trading nearly 20 per cent above the IPO price at 3,570 yen apiece, before paring gains to finish the day at 3,380 yen per share.
The Nikkei 225 share average rose 1.27 per cent, supported by upbeat performances in tech stocks, including SoftBank Group, which jumped 8.6 per cent and Tokyo Electron, up 4.1 per cent.
Tech stocks in Japan have been buoyant, supported by global enthusiasm for companies expected to benefit from rising investments in artificial intelligence.
Toppan Holdings carved out the business three years ago with private equity firm Integral. Prior to the listing, Toppan had a 50.1 per cent stake in Tekscend Photomask, with Integral holding the remaining 49.9 per cent.
($1 = 150.9000 yen)
