Chinese disposable medical devices maker Meihua International Medical Technologies, the first mainland company to list in the United States in the seven months since Beijing’s regulatory crackdown began in July last year , jumped 29 per cent on its trading debut overnight in New York. The Jiangsu-based company closed at US$12.92 on the Nasdaq, 29 per cent higher than its offering price of US$10. Its market value stood at US$305 million. Meihua’s strong debut might suggest foreign investors still had an appetite for initial public offerings (IPO) from Chinese issuers following Didi Chuxing’s controversial US$4.4 billion US listing in June. Beijing announced a cybersecurity investigation into the ride-hailing company just a few days after its IPO. “Meihua could have a strong debut as it is a medical play, and its business has benefited from the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Tom Chan Pak-lam, chairman of the Hong Kong Institute of Securities Dealers, the industry body of brokers in the city. “It is a breakthrough, but other non-medical Chinese companies may still struggle to list in the US. The Chinese companies that want to list there still need to face Beijing’s tough regulatory policies and American regulators’ disclosure requirements,” he said. Chinese issuers have stayed away from New York since July, after getting caught between China’s regulatory clampdown and closer scrutiny by the US’s Securities and Exchange Commission , which has put Chinese companies seeking to raise funds on Wall Street under the scanner. Meihua too had to downsize its IPO to raise US$36 million from the sale of 3.6 million shares at US$10 each. Its initial plan was to raise about US$57.5 million from the sale of 5 million shares priced in the range of US$9 to US$11. Consumer services firm Sentage Holdings was the last Chinese issuer to complete an IPO in the US, raising US$20 million on the Nasdaq in July last year, data from Refinitiv shows. Since then, no Chinese issuers have listed in the US. Chinese regulators have been targeting data management and cybersecurity risks posed by internet platforms seeking to list offshore. They now require platforms with data of more than one million Chinese users to seek cybersecurity clearance before listing abroad. Didi said in December that it will delist from the US and prepare for a listing in Hong Kong . This may well start a trend. More among the about 200 Chinese companies listed in the US might consider exiting the American markets, as they have come under increasing scrutiny from US regulators for accounting standards, as well as alleged ties to the Chinese military and US sanctions on Xinjiang . Meihua’s success, however, could encourage others, such as wheelchair maker Jin Medical to go ahead with their US listing. Jin, which is also from Jiangsu, is targeting about US$31.6 million from its IPO, according to its latest US filing. Smart parking systems provider Yi Po International Holdings also updated its US filing last month. The Jiangsu-based company plans to raise US$27 million on Nasdaq. Meanwhile, only nine companies completed their IPOs on the Nasdaq in January, raising just US$1.8 billion, a decline of 86 per cent from about US$13 billion a year earlier, data from Refinitiv shows.