SPAR Shandong operators, Jiajiayue Group, who became SPAR International's first retail partner in China in 2004, have launched an initial public offering (IPO) which saw the company listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Jiajiayue issued 90 million shares priced at 13,64 yuan per share to raise 1,23 billion yuan ($178,12 million). In late November, interest from investors saw the online portion of the IPO oversubscribed 4,407 times. The listing on the main A-Share exchange in China saw trading activity begin immediately after the opening on Tuesday, ending 43% up on the first day of trading.

The market funding will be used to strengthen the business further by financing new store openings and existing store upgrades, developing distribution centres and logistics infrastructure and enhancing the existing technology and IT infrastructure.

Jiajiayue was the first SPAR partner in China and opened its first store in 2005 in the city of Weihai, north east China. Since then, SPAR China has opened 360 stores with nearly 1,000,000 sqm of selling space in eight provinces, employing over 30,000 people. It also operates eight distribution centres delivering across 50 cities.

Speaking at the launch, Tobias Wasmuht, Managing Director of SPAR International said: “Today is a significant milestone, not just for SPAR Shandong, but also for the wider SPAR China family. All at SPAR are delighted to have contributed to the success of Jiajiayue, our founding partner of SPAR in China. Over the last 12 years the company has continued to lead the way, working closely with the growing list of SPAR Partners in China to grow and enhance the brand. Investor interest in today’s IPO is testament to the strength and vision of the company and its management team. This partnership embodies the values of SPAR and we look forward to growing together the scale of our retail network in Shandong and China as a whole.”

In addition to its partnership with SPAR, Jiajiayue Group Co. Ltd is involved in food processing, wholesale of agricultural products and foreign trade business. In total it operates over 400 stores with a selling space of 900,000 sqm in 34 cities within Shandong province such as Weihai, Yantai, Jinan, Weifang, Qingdao, Linyi, Laiwu and Zaozhuang.

The store formats cover hypermarket, supermarket, department store, neighbourhood store and discount store. The company has been recognised with a number of awards, including top 100 China FMCG Chain, Customer Satisfied Company in Shandong Province and Top Employer of China Retailing.