Lexin IPO up almost 19% in Nasdaq debut

Chinese online lender LexinFintech Holdings Ltd's shares made their market debut on Thursday, closing at almost 19 percent above their IPO price.

LexinFintech's shares touched a high of $14.88, a 53 percent jump from its IPO price of $9 that valued the Shenzhen-based company at $4.51 billion. The stock closed on the Nasdaq exchange at $10.70, up $1.70, or 18.89 percent.

Lexin initially intended to raise as much as $500 million but reduced that to $132 million following Beijing's recent crackdown on the booming micro-credit industry and competitors' falling shares.

Lexin CFO Craig Zeng said he thinks that the new government regulations will provide a "healthier environment for the market and benefit the industry in the long run."

Jay Wenjie Xiao, Lexin's founder and CEO, rang the opening bell at Nasdaq on Thursday.

The company's online consumer finance platform, Fenqile, offers personal installment loans, installment purchase loans and other loan products. The company also offers a variety of products on its e-commerce channel, which allows customers to use their credit lines to finance purchases. 

To beat the competition, Zeng said that Lexin relies on its technology expertise and the high-gross potential of its young adult customers who are between the ages of 18 and 36.

"They will actually be the major part of the middle-to-high income population of China and when they are young, they have lots of gross potential," Zeng said. "This is the key differentiator between Lexin and other microlenders."